1.
Audiencia Nacional of Spain
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The Audiencia Nacional is a special and exceptional high court in Spain. It has jurisdiction over all of the Spanish territory, as well as international crimes which come under the competence of Spanish courts. The Audiencia Nacional was created in 1977 at the time as the Public Order Tribunal. Despite what many think, the two work differently, and both the Spanish Constitutional Court and the European Commission of Human Rights have observed this tribunal to be legal. Its seat is in the city of Madrid, in most cases, the rulings and decisions of these different divisions of the Audiencia Nacional can be appealed before the Supreme Court of Spain. The Audiencia is composed of its President, the Presidents of the Chambers, appeals Chamber, which hears appeals against rulings of the Criminal Chamber
Audiencia Nacional of Spain
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Audiencia Nacional building in Madrid
2.
Catalan language
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Catalan is a Romance language derived from Vulgar Latin and named after the medieval Principality of Catalonia, in northeastern modern Spain and adjoining parts of France. It is the national and only language of Andorra, and a co-official language of the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands. It also has status in the commune of Alghero, situated on the northwestern coast of the island of Sardinia. All these territories are often called Catalan Countries. 4% with Catalan and 47. 5% only Spanish, in order to integrate newcomers, the Generalitat de Catalunya spends part of its annual budget on the promotion of the use of Catalan in Catalonia and in other territories. Catalan evolved from Vulgar Latin in the Middle Ages around the eastern Pyrenees, during the Low Middle Ages it saw a golden age as the literary and dominant language of the Crown of Aragon, and was widely used all over the Mediterranean. The union of Aragon with the territories of Spain in 1479 marked the start of the decline of the language. In 1659 Spain ceded Northern Catalonia to France, and Catalan was banned in both states in the early 18th century, 19th-century Spain saw a Catalan literary revival, which culminated in the 1913 orthographic standardization, and the official status of the language during the Second Spanish Republic. However, the Francoist dictatorship banned the use of Catalan in schools and in the public administration, there is no parallel in Europe for such a large, bilingual, non-state speech community. Catalan dialects are relatively uniform, and are mutually intelligible and they are divided into two blocks, Eastern and Western, differing mostly in pronunciation. The terms Catalan and Valencian are two varieties of the same language, there are two institutions regulating the two standard varieties, the Institute of Catalan Studies in Catalonia and the Valencian Academy of the Language in the Valencian Community. Catalan shares many traits with its neighboring Romance languages, thus, the similarities are naturally most notable with eastern Occitan. Nouns have two genders, and two numbers, pronouns additionally can have a neuter gender, and some are also inflected for case and politeness, and can be combined in very complex ways. Verbs are split in several paradigms and are inflected for person, number, tense, aspect, mood, in terms of pronunciation, Catalan has many words ending in a wide variety of consonants and some consonant clusters, in contrast with many other Romance languages. The word Catalan derives from the territory of Catalonia, itself of disputed etymology, in English, the term referring to a person first appears in the mid 14th century as Catelaner, followed in the 15th century as Catellain. It is attested a language name since at least 1652, Catalan can be pronounced as /ˈkætəlæn/, /kætəˈlæn/ or /ˈkætələn/. The endonym is pronounced /kə. təˈɫa/ in the Eastern Catalan dialects, in the Valencian Community, the term valencià is frequently used instead. The names Catalan and Valencian are two names for the same language, see also status of Valencian below. By the 9th century, Catalan had evolved from Vulgar Latin on both sides of the end of the Pyrenees, as well as the territories of the Roman province of Hispania Tarraconensis to the south
Catalan language
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Homilies d'Organyà (12th century)
Catalan language
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Catalan
Catalan language
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Fragment of the Greuges de Guitard Isarn (ca. 1080–1095), one of the earliest texts written almost completely in Catalan, predating the famous
Homilies d'Organyà by a century
Catalan language
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Official Decree Prohibiting the Catalan Language in France
3.
Crown of Castile
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The title of King of Castile remained in use by the Habsburg rulers during the 16th and 17th centuries. Charles I was King of Aragon, Majorca, Valencia, and Sicily, in the early 18th century, Philip of Bourbon won the War of the Spanish Succession and imposed unification policies over the Crown of Aragon, supporters of their enemies. This unified the Crown of Aragon and the Crown of Castile into the kingdom of Spain, even though the Nueva Planta decrees did not formally abolish the Crown of Castile, the country of was called Spain by both contemporaries and historians. King of Castile also remains part of the title of Felipe VI of Spain. The Kingdom of León arose out of the Kingdom of Asturias, the Kingdom of Castile appeared initially as a county of the Kingdom of León. From the second half of the 10th century to the first half of the 11th century it changed hands between León and the Kingdom of Navarre, in the 11th century it became a kingdom in its own right. The two kingdoms had been united twice previously, From 1037 until 1065 under Ferdinand I of León, upon his death his kingdoms passed to his sons, León to Alfonso VI, Castile to Sancho II, and Galicia to García. From 1072 until 1157 under Alfonso VI, Urraca, and Alfonso VII, from 1111 until 1126 Galicia was separate from the union under Alfonso VII. In 1157 the kingdoms were divided between Alfonsos sons, with Ferdinand II receiving León and Sancho III Castile, from then on the two kingdoms were united under the name of the Kingdom of León and Castile, or simply as the Crown of Castile. Ferdinand III later conquered the Guadalquivir Valley, while his son Alfonso X conquered the Kingdom of Murcia from Al-Andalus, the heir to the throne has been titled Prince of Asturias since the 14th century. Almost immediately after the union of the two kingdoms under Ferdinand III, the parliaments of Castile and León were united. It was divided into three estates, which corresponded with the nobility, the church and the cities, and included representation from Castile, León, Galicia, Toledo, Navarre, under Alfonso X, most sessions of the Cortes of both kingdoms were held jointly. The Cortes of 1258 in Valladolid comprised representatives of Castile, Extremadura and León, subsequent Cortes were celebrated separately, for example in 1301 that of Castile in Burgos and that of León in Zamora, but the representatives demanded that the parliaments be reunited from then on. These laws continued to be in force until 1889, when a new Spanish civil code, in the 13th century there were many languages spoken in the Kingdoms of León and Castile among them Castilian, Leonese, Basque and Galician-Portuguese. But, as the century progressed, Castilian gained increasing prominence as the language of culture, henceforth all public documents were written in Castilian, likewise all translations of Arabic legal and government documents were made into Castilian instead of Latin. In 1492, under the Catholic Monarchs, the first edition of the Grammar of the Castilian Language by Antonio de Nebrija was published, Castilian was eventually carried to the Americas in the 16th century by the conquistadors. Because of Castilians importance in the land ruled by the Spanish Crown, on the death of Alfonso XI a dynastic conflict started between his sons, the Infantes Peter and Henry, Count of Trastámara, which became entangled in the Hundred Years War. Alfonso XI had married Maria of Portugal with whom he had his heir, however, the King also had many illegitimate children with Eleanor of Guzman, among them the above-mentioned Henry, who disputed Peters right to the throne once the latter became king
Crown of Castile
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The Recapture of Granada (F. Padilla)
Crown of Castile
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Royal Standard
Crown of Castile
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Columbus and the Catholic Monarchs (The return of Columbus)
Crown of Castile
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"The Comuneros Padilla, Bravo and Maldonado in the Patíbulo ", by
Antonio Gisbert, 1860.
4.
Valladolid
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Valladolid is a city in Spain and the de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It has a population of 309,714 people, making it Spains 13th most populous municipality and its metropolitan area ranks 20th in Spain with a population of 414,244 people in 23 municipalities. The city is situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within five winegrowing regions, Ribera del Duero, Rueda, Toro, Tierra de León, Valladolid was originally settled in pre-Roman times by the Celtic Vaccaei people, and later the Romans themselves. It remained a settlement until being re-established by King Alfonso VI of Castile as a Lordship for the Count Pedro Ansúrez in 1072. The Catholic Monarchs, Isabel I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, married in Valladolid in 1469 and established it as the capital of the Kingdom of Castile and later of united Spain. Christopher Columbus died in Valladolid in 1506, while authors Francisco de Quevedo, the city was briefly the capital of Habsburg Spain under Phillip III between 1601 and 1606, before returning indefinitely to Madrid. The city then declined until the arrival of the railway in the 19th century, among the events that are held each year in the city there is Holy Week, Valladolid International Film Week, and the Theatre Festival and street arts. There is no evidence for the origin of the modern name of Valladolid. Another theory suggests that the name derives from the Arabic expression Ballad Al-Walid بلد الوليد, yet a third claims that it derives from Vallis Olivetum, meaning valley of the olives. In texts from the ages the town is called Vallisoletum, meaning sunny valley. The city is popularly called Pucela, a nickname whose origin is not clear. Another theory is that Pucela comes from the fact that Pozzolana cement was sold there, the Vaccaei was a Celtic tribe, the first people with stable presence on the sector of the middle valley of the River Duero documented in historical times. Remains of Celtiberian and of a Roman camp have been excavated near the city, the nucleus of the city was originally located in the area of the current San Miguel y el Rosarillo square, and was surrounded by a palisade. Archaeological proofs of the existence of three ancient lines of walls have been found, the area was captured from the Moors in the 10th century, and Valladolid was a village until King Alfonso VI of León and Castile donated it to Count Pedro Ansúrez in 1072. He built a palace for himself and his wife, Countess Eylo, the Collegiate of St. Mary, in 1469 Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand of Aragon were married in the city, by the 15th century Valladolid was the residence of the kings of Castile. In 1506 Christopher Columbus died in Valladolid still convinced that he had reached the Indies in a house that is now a Museum dedicated to him and it was made the capital of the kingdom again between 1601 and 1606 by Philip III. The city was damaged by a flood of the rivers Pisuerga. Despite the damage to the old city by the 1960s economic boom, the Science Museum is next to the river Pisuerga
Valladolid
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City Hall in the Plaza Mayor
Valladolid
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'A
jousting tournament in the main square of Valladolid', historical ceiling preserved in Prado Museum
Valladolid
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Map of the territory of the
Vaccaei
Valladolid
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Winter in the city gardens
5.
Council of Castile
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The Council of Castile, known earlier as the Royal Council, was a ruling body and key part of the domestic government of the Crown of Castile, second only to the monarch himself. It was established under Queen Isabella I in 1480 as the body dealing with administrative. During periods in which there was no monarch, an absent monarch, or an incompetent monarch, the Council weakened in the 19th century, where it was abolished and re-established several times before being dissolved permanently. The earliest form of the Royal Council was created at the end of the century in 1385 by King John after the disaster at the Battle of Aljubarrota. It consisted of 12 members, four each of the clergy, the cities. In 1442 the nobility increased its influence on the Council, adding many nobles as titular members of the Council, sixty became the new number of members. In 1480, they passed the Act of Resumption at the Cortes of Toledo and this act would allow Ferdinand and Isabella to directly appoint bureaucrats, rather than letting the independent and erratic nobles rule. The Royal Council would control both an army and manage tax disputes, which would place nobles more securely under the control of the Crown. The new composition of the reformed Council was a president, a treasurer, the result of this meant that the Council, and its bureaucracy, was composed chiefly of new men, the minor nobility, townsmen, and civilian magistrates. After Queen Isabellas death in 1504, the Royal Council began to grow corrupt, joanna was considered incompetent, and Charles too young. Archbishop Cisneros ruled a brief time as regent, but was undercut by noble schemes, Cisneros was then replaced by Joannas father King Ferdinand II, whose claim to rule Castile with his wifes death was rather weak, but no other plausible choice than his being regent existed. Ferdinand was often an absent ruler of Castile, living in Aragon, during this period, it became even more corrupt and ineffectual. Nobles illegally expanded their domains by force, sending soldiers to land that was owned by the royal government or free peasants. The Council, corrupt and bribed, usually ignored these incidents, allowing nobles to freely enrich themselves at the cost of justice and the national government. After Ferdinands death in 1516, Cisneros served as regent again for a time more. Additionally, Charles new government levied taxes and demands on Castile. Charles was the King, becoming Charles V Holy Roman Emperor in 1519, of one of the largest empires, the Spanish Empire, in European and world history - The empire on which the sun never sets. The Bishop of Badajoz, Ruiz de la Mota, was an member of the Royal Council and declared to the Cortes of Corunna that Castile was to be the empires treasury
Council of Castile
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Territories administered by the Council of Castile
6.
Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
Spain
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Lady of Elche
Spain
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Flag
Spain
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Altamira Cave paintings, in
Cantabria.
Spain
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Celtic castro in
A Guarda,
Galicia.
7.
Granada
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Granada is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of four rivers, the Beiro, the Darro, the Genil and the Monachil. It sits at an elevation of 738 m above sea level, yet is only one hour by car from the Mediterranean coast. Nearby is the Sierra Nevada Ski Station, where the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1996 were held, about 3. 3% of the population did not hold Spanish citizenship, the largest number of these people coming from South America. Its nearest airport is Federico García Lorca Granada-Jaén Airport, the Alhambra, a Moorish citadel and palace, is in Granada. It is the most renowned building of the Andalusian Islamic historical legacy with its cultural attractions that make Granada a popular destination among the touristic cities of Spain. The Almohad influence on architecture is preserved in the Granada neighborhood called the Albaicín with its fine examples of Moorish. Granada is also well-known within Spain for the University of Granada which has about 80,000 students spread over five different campuses in the city, the pomegranate is the heraldic device of Granada. The region surrounding what today is Granada has been populated since at least 5500 BC and experienced Roman, the most ancient ruins found in the city belongs to an Iberian oppidum called Ilturir, in the region known as Bastetania. This oppidum eventually changed its name to Iliberri, and after the Roman conquest of Iberia, the Umayyad conquest of Hispania, starting in AD711, brought large parts of the Iberian Peninsula under Moorish control and established Al-Andalus. In the early 11th century, after a war that ended the Caliphate, the Berber, Zawi ben Ziri, established an independent kingdom for himself. Jewish people were established in another close to Illiberis, called Gárnata or Gárnata al-Yahūd. Granadas historical name in the Arabic language was غرناطة, the word Gárnata possibly means hill of strangers. Because the city was situated on a low plain and, as a result, difficult to protect from attacks, in a short time this town was transformed into one of the most important cities of Al-Andalus. By the end of the 11th century, the city had spread across the Darro to reach the hill of the future Alhambra, the Almoravids ruled Granada from 1090 and the Almohad dynasty from 1166. With the Reconquista in full swing after the conquest of Córdoba in 1236, according to some historians, Granada was a tributary state to the Kingdom of Castile since that year. It provided connections with Muslim and Arab trade centers, particularly for gold from sub-Saharan Africa and the Maghreb, the Nasrids also supplied troops from the Emirate and mercenaries from North Africa for service to Castile. Ibn Battuta, a traveler and an authentic historian, visited the Kingdom of Granada in 1350
Granada
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From top left: The
Alhambra,
Generalife, Patio de los Leones in Alhambra, Royal Hall in Alhambra,
Albaicín and
Sacromonte, Huerto del Carlos, in Albaicín, Plaza Nueva, house in Albaicín, façade of the
cathedral, bell tower of the cathedral,
Royal Chapel
Granada
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Arco/puerta de Elvira in Granada
Granada
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Historic map of Granada by
Piri Reis
8.
Tagus
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The Tagus is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. It is 1,007 km long,716 km in Spain,47 km along the border between Portugal and Spain and 275 km in Portugal, where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean near Lisbon and it drains an area of 80,100 square kilometers. The Tagus is highly utilized for most of its course, several dams and diversions supply drinking water to most of central Spain, including Madrid, and Portugal, while dozens of hydroelectric stations create power. Between dams it follows a very constricted course, but after Almourol it enters a vast alluvial valley prone to flooding, at its mouth is a large estuary on which the port city of Lisbon is situated. The source of the Tagus is the Fuente de García, in the Frías de Albarracín municipal term, Montes Universales, Sistema Ibérico, all its major tributaries enter the Tagus from the right bank. The main cities it passes through are Aranjuez, Toledo, Talavera de la Reina and Alcántara in Spain, the first notable city on the Tagus is Sacedón. Below Aranjuez it receives the flow of the Jarama, Henares, Algodor. Below Toledo it receives the Guadarrama River, above Talavera de la Reina it receives the Alberche. There is a canal and aqueduct between the Tagus and the Segura, the estuary is protected by the Tagus Estuary Natural Reserve. There is the largest bridge across the river, the Vasco da Gama Bridge, the Port of Lisbon, located at its mouth, is one of Europes busiest. The lower Tagus is on a fault line, slippage along it has caused numerous earthquakes, the major ones being those of 1309,1531 and 1755. The Pepper Wreck, properly the wreck of the Nossa Senhora dos Mártires, is a shipwreck located and excavated at the mouth of the Tagus between 1996 and 2001, the river had strategic value to the Spanish and Portuguese empires, as it guarded the approach to Lisbon. For example, in 1587, Sir Francis Drake briefly approached the river after his raid at Cadiz. A major river, the Tagus is brought to mind in the songs, a popular fado song in Lisbon notes that while people get older, the Tagus remains young. The author, Fernando Pessoa, wrote a poem that begins, but the Tagus is not more beautiful than the river that flows through my village. Richard Crashaws poem Saint Mary Magdalene, or the Weeper refers to the Golden Tagus as wanting Mary Magdalenes silver tears, in classical poetry the Tagus was famous for its gold-bearing sands. List of rivers of Spain List of rivers of Portugal
Tagus
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View of Tagus River in
Toledo, Spain
Tagus
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Path of the Tagus through the Iberian Peninsula
Tagus
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The Tagus near
Vila Velha de Ródão, close to the Spanish border
9.
Ciudad Real
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Ciudad Real is a city in Castile–La Mancha, Spain, with a population of c. It is the capital of the province of Ciudad Real and it has a stop on the AVE high-speed rail line and has begun to grow as a long-distance commuter suburb of Madrid, which is located 115 miles to the north of Ciudad Real. Ciudad Real was founded by King Alfonso X The Wise in the 13th century to fight with the Military Order of Calatrava, during the Middle Ages, four kilometres of walls and one hundred and thirty towers protected a population made up of Christians, Muslims and Jews. After the unification of the Iberian kingdoms under the Catholic Monarchs and this fact favoured its economic development which was shown by the construction of several important buildings. In 1755, however, an earthquake centred on Lisbon destroyed many of these buildings, in 1809, during the Peninsular War, French troops defeated their Spanish counterparts and occupied the city, using the local hospital as their headquarters and barracks. The Plaza Mayor sits in the centre of Ciudad Real, today, only two parts of the wall that surrounded the city in medieval times remain standing. Don Quixotes Museum is situated next to Parque de Gasset, the Museo Elisa Cendreros exhibits an old collection of fans and carved wood. The Iglesia de Santiago is the oldest church in Ciudad Real and it was built at the end of the 13th century. It has three blocks divided into two parts and it is decorated with gothic paintings and with seven-headed dragons, which were used such us amulets against the bad spirits. The ceiling is decorated with stones forming eight pointed stars, another important church in Ciudad Real is Iglesia de San Pedro. It is the most interesting and typical monument of the city and it was built during the 14th and 15th centuries. Its style is Gothic, and it houses the tomb of Chante de Coca, confessor, in the year 1420 the King of Castile and León, Juan the II, gave him the title to Ciudad Real. Ciudad Real Cathedral, built in the 16th century, has the second-largest nave in Spain, one of the most popular festivals in the city is La Pandorga, which takes place July 30 and 31. On the last day of the month the festival honours its patroness, the usual attire of the participants consists of jeans, a white shirt, and the traditional handkerchief. The city had a team, the BM Ciudad Real. The handball club was one of the best in the world and its former hall, BM Ciudad Real, however, moved its team to Madrid. Its name became BM Neptuno but for sponsorship reasons was often referred to as Atlético Madrid, in 2013, BM Neptuno also disappeared. Ciudad Real also has a team, which included David De la Rubia
Ciudad Real
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Plaza Mayor de Ciudad Real
Ciudad Real
–
Flag
Ciudad Real
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Cathedral of Ciudad Real
Ciudad Real
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Jardines del Prado
10.
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
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Charles V was ruler of both the Spanish Empire from 1516 and the Holy Roman Empire from 1519, as well as of the Habsburg Netherlands from 1506. He voluntarily stepped down from these and other positions by a series of abdications between 1554 and 1556, through inheritance, he brought together under his rule extensive territories in western, central, and southern Europe, and the Spanish colonies in the Americas and Asia. As a result, his domains spanned nearly four square kilometers and were the first to be described as the empire on which the sun never sets. Charles was the heir of three of Europes leading dynasties, the Houses of Valois-Burgundy, Habsburg, and Trastámara and he inherited the Burgundian Netherlands and the Franche-Comté as heir of the House of Valois-Burgundy. From his own dynasty, the Habsburgs, he inherited Austria and he was also elected to succeed his Habsburg grandfather, Maximilian I, as Holy Roman Emperor, a title held by the Habsburgs since 1440. Charles was the first king to rule Castile and Aragon simultaneously in his own right, the personal union, under Charles, of the Holy Roman Empire with the Spanish Empire resulted in the closest Europe would come to a universal monarchy since the death of Louis the Pious. France recovered and the wars continued for the remainder of Charless reign, enormously expensive, they led to the development of the first modern professional army in Europe, the Tercios. The struggle with the Ottoman Empire was fought in Hungary and the Mediterranean, after seizing most of eastern and central Hungary in 1526, the Ottomans’ advance was halted at their failed Siege of Vienna in 1529. A lengthy war of attrition, conducted on his behalf by his younger brother Ferdinand, in the Mediterranean, although there were some successes, Charles was unable to prevent the Ottomans’ increasing naval dominance and the piratical activity of the Barbary Corsairs. Charles opposed the Reformation and in Germany he was in conflict with the Protestant Princes of the Schmalkaldic League who were motivated by religious and political opposition to him. Once the rebellions were quelled the essential Castilian and Burgundian territories remained mostly loyal to Charles throughout his rule, Charles’s Spanish dominions were the chief source of his power and wealth, and they became increasingly important as his reign progressed. In the Americas, Charles sanctioned the conquest by Castillian conquistadors of the Aztec, Castillian control was extended across much of South and Central America. The resulting vast expansion of territory and the flows of South American silver to Castile had profound long term effects on Spain. Charles was only 56 when he abdicated, but after 34 years of rule he was physically exhausted and sought the peace of a monastery. Upon Charles’s abdications, the Holy Roman Empire was inherited by his younger brother Ferdinand, the Spanish Empire, including the possessions in the Netherlands and Italy, was inherited by Charles’s son Philip II. The two empires would remain allies until the 18th century, Charles was born in 1500 as the eldest son of Philip the Handsome and Joanna of Castile in the Flemish city of Ghent, which was part of the Habsburg Netherlands. The culture and courtly life of the Burgundian Low Countries were an important influence in his early life and he was tutored by William de Croÿ, and also by Adrian of Utrecht. He also gained a decent command of German, though he never spoke it as well as French, a witticism sometimes attributed to Charles is, I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men and German to my horse
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
–
Charrles V by
Titian, 1548.
Alte Pinakothek, Munich, Germany
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
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Signature
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
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Copper coin "korte" with portrait of Charles V, struck in Antwerp, 1548
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
–
A young Charles V, by
Bernard van Orley,
Louvre Museum, Paris, France
11.
Philip II of Spain
–
Philip II of Spain, called the Prudent, was King of Spain, King of Portugal, King of Naples and Sicily, and jure uxoris King of England and Ireland. He was also Duke of Milan, from 1555, he was lord of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands. Known in Spain as Felipe el Prudente, his empire included territories on every continent then known to Europeans, during his reign, Spain reached the height of its influence and power. This is sometimes called the Golden Age, the expression, the empire on which the sun never sets, was coined during Philips time to reflect the extent of his dominion. During Philips reign there were separate state bankruptcies in 1557,1560,1569,1575 and this was partly the cause of the declaration of independence which created the Dutch Republic in 1581. The Ambassador went on to say He dresses very tastefully, the culture and courtly life of Spain were an important influence in his early life. He was tutored by Juan Martínez Siliceo – the future Archbishop of Toledo, Philip displayed reasonable aptitude in arms and letters alike. Later he would study with more illustrious tutors, including the humanist Juan Cristóbal Calvete de Estrella, Philip, though he had good command over Latin, Spanish and Portuguese, never managed to equal his father, Charles V, as a polyglot. Despite being also a German archduke from the House of Habsburg, Philip felt himself to be culturally Spanish, he had been born in Spain and raised in the Castilian court, his native tongue was Spanish, and he preferred to live in Spain. This would ultimately impede his succession to the imperial throne, Philip was also close to his two sisters, María and Juana, and to his two pages, the Portuguese nobleman Rui Gomes da Silva and Luis de Requesens, the son of his governor Juan de Zúñiga. These men would serve Philip throughout their lives, as would Antonio Pérez, Philips martial training was undertaken by his governor, Juan de Zúñiga, a Castilian nobleman who served as the commendador mayor of Castile. The practical lessons in warfare were overseen by the Duke of Alba during the Italian Wars, Philip was present at the Siege of Perpignan in 1542, but did not see action as the Spanish army under Alba decisively defeated the besieging French forces under the Dauphin of France. On his way back to Castile, Philip received the oath of allegiance of the Aragonese Cortes at Monzón. The king-emperors interactions with his son during his stay in Spain convinced him of Philips precocity in statesmanship, Philip, who had previously been made the Duke of Milan in 1540, began governing the most extensive empire in the world at the young age of sixteen. Charles left Philip with experienced advisors—notably the secretary Francisco de los Cobos, Philip was also left with extensive written instructions which emphasised piety, patience, modesty, and distrust. These principles of Charles were gradually assimilated by his son, who would grow up to become grave, self-possessed, personally, Philip spoke softly, and had an icy self-mastery, in the words of one of his ministers, he had a smile that cut like a sword. After living in the Netherlands in the years of his reign. Although sometimes described as a monarch, Philip faced many constitutional constraints on his authority
Philip II of Spain
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'The Baptism of Phillip II' in
Valladolid, Spain. Historical ceiling preserved in Palacio de Pimentel (
Valladolid).
Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
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Portrait of Philip II on 1/5 Philipsdaalder, struck 1566, Guelders, Low Countries.
Philip II of Spain
–
Titian 's portrait of Philip as prince, aged about twenty-four dressed in a magnificent, lavishly decorated set of armour. The whiteness of his skin corresponds to his white stockings and the greenish golden sheen on his armour. In this way, the prince's pale complexion appears more distinguished.
12.
Seville
–
Seville is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville, Spain. It is situated on the plain of the river Guadalquivir, the inhabitants of the city are known as sevillanos or hispalenses, after the Roman name of the city, Hispalis. Its Old Town, with an area of 4 square kilometres, the Seville harbour, located about 80 kilometres from the Atlantic Ocean, is the only river port in Spain. Seville is also the hottest major metropolitan area in the geographical Western Europe, Seville was founded as the Roman city of Hispalis. It later became known as Ishbiliya after the Muslim conquest in 712, in 1519, Ferdinand Magellan departed from Seville for the first circumnavigation of the Earth. Spal is the oldest known name for Seville and it appears to have originated during the Phoenician colonisation of the Tartessian culture in south-western Iberia and, according to Manuel Pellicer Catalán, meant lowland in the Phoenician language. During Roman rule, the name was Latinised as Hispalis, nO8DO is the official motto of Seville. It is popularly believed to be a rebus signifying the Spanish No me ha dejado, meaning It has not abandoned me, the eight in the middle represents a madeja, or skein of wool. The emblem is present on the flag and features on city property such as manhole covers. Seville is approximately 2,200 years old, the passage of the various civilisations instrumental in its growth has left the city with a distinct personality, and a large and well-preserved historical centre. The city was known from Roman times as Hispalis, important archaeological remains also exist in the nearby towns of Santiponce and Carmona. The walls surrounding the city were built during the rule of Julius Caesar. Following Roman rule, there were successive conquests of the Roman province of Hispania Baetica by the Vandals, the Suebi, Seville was taken by the Moors, Muslims from North of Africa, during the conquest of Hispalis in 712. It was the capital for the kings of the Umayyad Caliphate, the Moorish urban influences continued and are present in contemporary Seville, for instance in the custom of decorating with herbaje and small fountains the courtyards of the houses. However, most buildings of the Moorish aesthetic actually belong to the Mudéjar style of Islamic art, developed under Christian rule and inspired by the Arabic style. Original Moorish buildings are the Patio del Yeso in the Alcázar, the city walls, in 1247, the Christian King Ferdinand III of Castile and Leon began the conquest of Andalusia. The decisive action took place in May 1248 when Ramon Bonifaz sailed up the Guadalquivir, the city surrendered on 23 November 1248. The citys development continued after the Castilian conquest in 1248, Public buildings constructed including churches, many of which were built in the Mudéjar style, and the Seville Cathedral, built during the 15th century with Gothic architecture
Seville
–
Clockwise from top:
St. Mary of the See Cathedral and
Giralda,
Plaza de España in the
Maria Luisa Park,
Metropol Parasol, the Isabel II ("
Triana ") bridge and the
Torre del Oro.
Seville
–
Flag
Seville
–
View of the
Giralda from the Patio de Banderas (Courtyard of Flags), historic square with remains of Roman, Moorish and Castilian periods.
Seville
–
Cathedral of Saint Mary from Constitución Avenue
13.
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
–
Las Palmas, officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a city and capital of Gran Canaria island, in the Canary Islands, off the northwestern coast of Africa. It is the co-capital, the most populous city in the community of the Canary Islands. It is also the fifth most populous area in Spain. Las Palmas is located in the part of the island of Gran Canaria. It enjoys a mild and pleasant semi-arid climate highly influenced by the Atlantic. According to a study carried out by Thomas Whitmore, director of research on climatology at Syracuse University in the U. S, Las Palmas enjoys the best climate in the world. The city was founded in 1478, and considered the de facto capital of the Canary Islands until the seventeenth century. It is the home of the Canarian Ministry of Presidency, as well as half of the Ministries and Boards of the Canarian Government, and it is the judicial and commercial capital of the Canary Islands, and is also home to a large part of the executive power. The city was founded by Juan Rejón on 24 June 1478, Rejón was head of the invading Castilian army, which then engaged in war with the locals. In 1492, Christopher Columbus anchored in the port of Las Palmas and he also stopped there on the way back to Spain. The Colon House museum in the Vegueta area of the city is named after him, in 1595 Francis Drake tried to plunder the town, leading to the Battle of Las Palmas. A Dutch raid under vice-admiral Pieter van der Does in 1599 was only slightly successful, some of the town was destroyed. Las Palmas seaport, Puerto de la Luz, benefited greatly from the closure of the Suez Canal during the Suez Crisis, many foreign workers migrated to the city at this time. Las Palmas is a city of San Antonio, Texas in the United States. Las Palmas is divided into five districts, which in turn are subdivided into districts. Las Palmas has a hot climate with warm dry summers. Its average annual temperature is 21.2 °C –28 °C during the day and 18 °C at night. In January, the coldest month, the temperature ranges from 19 to 23 °C during the day
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
–
Views of Las Palmas, clockwise from top, Las Canteras Beach, Canaria Local Government Center, Alfredo Kraus Hall, Night of Canaria Catedral, Lighthouse in Las Palmas Port, Perez Galdos Theater, View of Downtown Las Palmas
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
–
Old jail Barranco Seco
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
–
Rotonda lighthouse in Puerto de la Luz
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
–
For other uses, see
Las Palmas (disambiguation).
14.
Majorca
–
Majorca or Mallorca is the largest island in the Balearic Islands archipelago, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the community of the Balearic Islands. The Balearic Islands have been a region of Spain since 1983. The Cabrera Archipelago is administratively grouped with Majorca, the anthem of Majorca is La Balanguera. Like the other Balearic Islands of Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera, the island is a popular holiday destination, particularly for tourists from Germany. The international airport, Palma de Mallorca Airport, is one of the busiest in Spain, the name derives from Latin insula maior, larger island, later Maiorica, the larger one in comparison to Minorca, the smaller one. Little is recorded of the earliest inhabitants of the island, burial chambers and traces of habitation from the Neolithic period have been discovered, particularly the prehistoric settlements called talaiots, or talayots. They raised Bronze Age megaliths as part of their Talaiotic Culture, the island eventually came under the control of Carthage in North Africa, which had become the principal Phoenician city. After the Second Punic War, Carthage lost all of its overseas possessions, the island was occupied by the Romans in 123 BC under Quintus Caecilius Metellus Balearicus. It flourished under Roman rule, during which time the towns of Pollentia, in addition, the northern town of Bocchoris, dating back to pre-Roman times, was a federated city to Rome. The local economy was driven by olive cultivation, viticulture. Majorcan soldiers were valued within the Roman legions for their skill with the sling, in 427, Gunderic and the Vandals captured the island. Geiseric, son of Gunderic, governed Majorca and used it as his base to loot and plunder settlements around the Mediterranean, in 534, Majorca was recaptured by the Eastern Roman Empire, led by Apollinarius. Under Roman rule, Christianity thrived and numerous churches were built, from 707, the island was increasingly attacked by Muslim raiders from North Africa. Recurrent invasions led the islanders to ask Charlemagne for help, in 902, Issam al-Khawlani conquered the Balearic Islands, ushering in a new period of prosperity under the Emirate of Córdoba. The town of Palma was reshaped and expanded, and became known as Medina Mayurqa, later on, with the Caliphate of Córdoba at its height, the Moors improved agriculture with irrigation and developed local industries. The Caliphate was dismembered in 1015, Majorca came under rule by the Taifa of Dénia, and from 1087 to 1114 was an independent Taifa. During that period the island was visited by Ibn Hazm, however, an expedition of Pisans and Catalans in 1114-15, led by Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona, overran the island, laying siege to Palma for eight months
Majorca
–
Example of prehistoric talaiot in Majorca
Majorca
–
Flag of Majorca
Majorca
–
Ruins of the Roman city of
Pollentia
Majorca
–
Arab Baths in
Palma
15.
Asturias
–
Asturias, officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous community in north-west Spain. It is coextensive with the province of Asturias, and contains some of the territory that was part of the larger Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages. The most important cities are the capital, Oviedo, the seaport and largest city Gijón. Other municipalities in Asturias include Cangas de Onís, Cangas del Narcea, Gozón, Grado, Langreo, Llanera, Laviana, Lena, Llanes, Mieres, Siero, Valdés, Vegadeo, Asturias is also home to the Princess of Asturias Awards. In the Mesolithic period, a culture developed, that of the Asturiense. Today the Astur Celtic influence persists in place names, such as those of rivers, with the conquest of Asturias by the Romans under Augustus, the region entered into the annals of history. The Astures were subdued by the Romans but were never fully conquered, however, as it had been for the Romans and Visigoths, the Moors did not find mountainous territory easy to conquer, and the lands along Spains northern coast never fully became part of Islamic Spain. In the 10th century, the Kingdom of Asturias gave way to the Kingdom of León, through the rebellion of Henry II of Castile in the 14th century, the Principality of Asturias was established. The most famous proponents of independence were Gonzalo Peláez and Queen Urraca, after its integration into the Kingdom of Spain, Asturias provided the Spanish court with high-ranking aristocrats and played an important role in the colonization of America. Since 1388, the heir to the Castilian throne has been styled Prince of Asturias, in the 16th century, the population reached 100,000 for the first time, and within another century that number would double due to the arrival of American corn. During the 18th century, Asturias was one of the centres of the Spanish Enlightenment, the renowned Galician thinker Benito de Feijóo settled in the Benedictine Monastery of San Vicente de Oviedo. Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos, a polymath and prominent reformer and politician of the late 18th century, was born in the town of Gijón. At the same time, there was significant migration to America and these entrepreneurs were known collectively as Indianos, for having visited and made their fortunes in the West Indies and beyond. Asturias played an important part in the events led up to the Spanish Civil War. For a month, a Popular Front Committee exercised control in southern Asturias, a war committee dominated by anarcho-syndicalist supporters took power in Oviedo. Troops under the command of a then unknown general named Francisco Franco Bahamonde were brought from Spanish Morocco to suppress the revolt, Franco applied tactics normally reserved for overseas colonies, using troops of the Spanish Legion and Moroccan troops, ferocious oppression followed. As a result, Asturias remained loyal to the government during the Spanish Civil War, and was the scene of an extraordinary defence in extreme terrain. With Franco eventually gaining control of all Spain, Asturias — traditionally linked to the Spanish Crown — was known merely as the Province of Oviedo from 1939 until Francos death in 1975, the provinces name was restored fully after the return of democracy to Spain, in 1977
Asturias
–
Roman thermaes in Gijón, Asturias
Asturias
–
Flag
Asturias
–
Santa María del Naranco, ancient palace of Asturian Kings, 842 AD
Asturias
–
Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos
16.
Extremadura
–
Extremadura is an autonomous community of western Spain whose capital city is Mérida. Its component provinces are Cáceres and Badajoz and it is bordered by Portugal to the west. To the north it borders Castile and León, to the south, it borders Andalusia and it is an important area for wildlife, particularly with the major reserve at Monfragüe, which was designated a National Park in 2007, and the International Tagus River Natural Park. The government of Extremadura is called Gobierno de Extremadura, Extremadura is contained between 37° 57′ and 40° 85′ N latitude, and 4° 39′ and 7° 33′ W longitude. The area of Extremadura is 41,633 km2, making it the fifth largest of the Spanish autonomous communities and it is located in the Southern Plateau. In the north is the Sistema Central with the highest point in Extremadura,2,401 m high Calvitero, the main subranges of the Sistema Central in Extremadura are the Sierra de Gata and Sierra de Béjar. In the centre is the Sierra de las Villuercas which reaches an altitude of 1,603 m on the Pico de las Villuercas, other notable ranges are Sierra de Montánchez and the Sierra de San Pedro, which form part of the greater Montes de Toledo system. To the south rises the Sierra Morena which separates Extremadura from Andalusia with Sierra de Tentudía where the highest altitude of mountains in Extremadura is Pico Tentudía at 1,104 m. There are four different hydrographic basins, The basin of the Tagus, with two tributaries, on the right, the Tiétar and the Alagón, and on the left, the Almonte, Ibor, Salor. The tributaries on the right edge carry a quantity of water, which feed the gorges of the Sistema Central where the rainfall is abundant. The basin of the Guadiana, which has tributaries, to the right, Guadarranque and Ruecas to the left, Zújar River which is its plentiful tributary. The basin of the Guadalquivir with only 1,411 km2 in Extremadura, the basin of the Douro with only 35 km2 in Extremadura. The climate of Extremadura is Mediterranean, except to the north, where it is continental, and to the west, the yearly temperature fluctuates between an average minimum of 4 °C and an average maximum of 33 °C. In the north of Extremadura, the temperatures are lower than those in the south, with temperatures gradually rising south towards the Sierra Morena. During the summer, the temperature in July is greater than 26 °C. The winters are mild with the lowest temperatures being registered in the mountainous regions, the average snowfall is 40 cm, mainly occurring in January and February. As of January 1,2012, the population of Extremadura is 1,109,367 inhabitants, the population density is very low—25/km2 —compared to Spain as a whole. The most populous province is that of Badajoz, with a population of 691,715, with an area of 21,766 km2, it is the largest province in Spain
Extremadura
–
The Old city of
Cáceres
Extremadura
Extremadura
–
The city of
Guadalupe
Extremadura
–
Archaeological Roman Ensemble in Mérida, capital of the ancient Lusitania
17.
Crown of Aragon
–
Put in contemporary terms, it has sometimes been considered that the different lands of the Crown of Aragon functioned more as a confederation than as a single kingdom. In this sense, the larger Crown of Aragon must not be confused with one of its constituent parts, formally, the political center of the Crown of Aragon was Zaragoza, where kings were crowned at La Seo Cathedral. The de facto capital and leading cultural, administrative and economic centre of the Crown of Aragon was Barcelona followed by Valencia, finally, Palma was an additional important city and seaport. For brief periods the Crown of Aragon also controlled Montpellier, Provence, Corsica, the countries that are today known as Spain and Portugal spent the Middle Ages after 722 in an intermittent struggle called the Reconquista. This struggle pitted the northern Christian kingdoms against the Islamic taifa petty kingdoms of the South, in the Late Middle Ages, the expansion of the Aragonese Crown southwards met with the Castilian advance eastward in the region of Murcia. Afterward, the Aragonese Crown focused on the Mediterranean, acting as far as Greece and Barbary, whereas Portugal, mercenaries from the territories in the Crown, known as almogàvers participated in the creation of this Mediterranean empire, and later found employment in countries all across southern Europe. The Crown of Aragon has been considered by some as an empire which ruled in the Mediterranean for hundreds of years and it was indeed, at its height, one of the major powers in Europe. However, its different territories were connected through the person of the monarch. A modern historian, Juan de Contreras y Lopez de Ayala, Marqués de Lozoya described the Crown of Aragon as being more like a confederacy than a centralised kingdom, let alone an empire. Nor did official documents refer to it as an empire, instead. This union respected the institutions and parliaments of both territories. This was due to the loss of Catalan influence, the renunciation of the family rights of the counts of Barcelona in Occitania. Petronillas father King Ramiro, The Monk who was raised in the Saint Pons de Thomières Monastery and his brothers Peter I and Alfonso I El Batallador had bravely fought against Castile for hegemony in the Iberian peninsula. After the death of Alfonso I, the Aragonese nobility that campaigned close him feared being overwhelmed by the influence of Castile, and so, Ramiro was forced to leave his monastic life and proclaim himself King of Aragon. He married Agnes, sister of the Duke of Aquitaine and betrothed his daughter to Raymond Berengar IV of Barcelona. The wedding agreement provided Raymond Berengar IV the title of Princeps Aragonum and Dominator Aragonenesis and kept the title, Raymond Berengar IV, the first ruler of the united dynasty, called himself Count of Barcelona and Prince of Aragon. Alfonso II inherited two realms and with them, two different expansion processes, the House of Jiménez looked south in a battle against Castile for the control of the Mediterranean coast in the Iberian peninsula. The House of Barcelona looked north to its origins, Occitania, soon, Alfonso II of Aragon and Barcelona committed himself to conquer Valencia as the Aragonese nobility demanded
Crown of Aragon
–
Petronilla of Aragon (1136–1173) and
Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona (ca. 1131–1162) depicted in a 16th-century painting.
Crown of Aragon
–
Standard
Crown of Aragon
–
Equestrian heraldic representation of King of Aragon in the "Equestrian armorial of the Golden Fleece" 1433-1435.
Crown of Aragon
–
Ferdinand V and
Isabella I,
King and Queen of Castile and León, and later of Aragon, Valencia, Sicily, and Majorca
18.
Kingdom of Sardinia
–
The Kingdom of Sardinia was a state in Southern Europe which existed from the early 14th until the mid-19th century. It was the state of todays Italy. When it was acquired by the Duke of Savoy in 1720, however, the Savoyards united it with their possessions on the Italian mainland and, by the time of the Crimean War in 1853, had built the resulting kingdom into a strong power. The formal name of the entire Savoyard state was the States of His Majesty the King of Sardinia and its final capital was Turin, the capital of Savoy since the Middle Ages. Beginning in 1324, James and his successors conquered the island of Sardinia, in 1420 the last competing claim to the island was bought out. After the union of the crowns of Aragon and Castile, Sardinia became a part of the burgeoning Spanish Empire, in 1720 it was ceded by the Habsburg and Bourbon claimants to the Spanish throne to Duke Victor Amadeus II of Savoy. While in theory the traditional capital of the island of Sardinia and seat of its viceroys was Cagliari, the Congress of Vienna, which restructured Europe after Napoleons defeat, returned to Savoy its mainland possessions and augmented them with Liguria, taken from the Republic of Genoa. In 1847–48, in a fusion, the various Savoyard states were unified under one legal system, with the capital in Turin, and granted a constitution. There followed the annexation of Lombardy, the central Italian states and the Two Sicilies, Venetia, in 238 BC Sardinia became, along with Corsica, a province of the Roman Empire. The Romans ruled the island until the middle of the 5th century, when it was occupied by the Vandals, in 534 AD it was reconquered by the Romans, but now from the Eastern Roman Empire, Byzantium. It remained a Byzantine province until the Arab conquest of Sicily in the 9th century, after that, communications with Constantinople became very difficult, and powerful families of the island assumed control of the land. Starting from 705–706, Saracens from north Africa harassed the population of the coastal cities, information about the Sardinian political situation in the following centuries is scarce. There is a record of another massive Saracen sea attack in 1015–16 from the Balearics, the Saracen attempt to invade the island was stopped by the Judicatus with the support of the fleets of the maritime republics of Pisa and Genoa, free cities of the Holy Roman Empire. Pope Benedict VIII also requested aid from the republics of Pisa. Even the title of Judices was a Byzantine reminder of the Greek church and state, of these sovereigns only two names are known, Turcoturiu and Salusiu, who probably ruled in the 10th century. The Archons still wrote in Greek or Latin, but one of the first documents of the Judex of Cagliari, their successor, was written in romance Sardinian language. The realm was divided into four kingdoms, the Judicati, perfectly organized as was the previous realm, but was now under the influence of the Pope. That was the cause of leading to a long war between the Judices, who regarded themselves as kings fighting against rebellious nobles
Kingdom of Sardinia
–
A map of the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1856, after the fusion of all its provinces into a single jurisdiction
Kingdom of Sardinia
–
The final flag used by the kingdom under the "
Perfect Fusion " (1848–1861)
Kingdom of Sardinia
–
Flag of the Kingdom of Sardinia in the middle of the 16th century
Kingdom of Sardinia
–
Kingdom of Sardinia 16th-century map
19.
Kingdom of Sicily
–
The Kingdom of Sicily was a state that existed in the south of the Apennine peninsula from its founding by Roger II in 1130 until 1816. It was a state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of the southern peninsula. Until 1282 the Kingdom covered not only the island of Sicily, but also the whole Mezzogiorno region of the southern Apennines, the island was divided into three regions, Val di Mazara, Val Demone and Val di Noto, val being the Arabic word meaning district. In 1282, a revolt against Angevin rule, known as the Sicilian Vespers, the island became a separate kingdom under the Crown of Aragon. After 1302 the island kingdom was called the Kingdom of Trinacria. Often the kingship was vested in another such as the King of Aragon. In 1816 the island Kingdom of Sicily merged with the Kingdom of Naples to form the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. In 1860 the Two Sicilies were amalgamated with Sardinia and several northern city-states and duchies to form the Kingdom of Sardinia which in 1861 renamed itself the Kingdom of Italy, after taking Apulia and Calabria, Roger occupied Messina with an army of 700 knights. In 1068, Roger I of Sicily and his men defeated the Muslims at Misilmeri but the most crucial battle was the siege of Palermo, which led to Sicily being completely under Norman control by 1091. The Norman Kingdom was created on Christmas Day,1130, by Roger II of Sicily, with the agreement of Pope Innocent II, Roger threw his support behind the Antipope Anacletus II, who enthroned him as King of Sicily on Christmas Day 1130. In 1136, the rival of Anacletus, Pope Innocent II, convinced Lothair III, Two main armies, one led by Lothair, the other by Duke of Bavaria Henry the Proud, invaded Sicily. On the river Tronto, William of Loritello surrendered to Lothair and this was followed by Count Hugh II of Molise. The two armies were united at Bari, from where in 1137 they continued their campaign, Roger offered to give Apulia as a fief to the Empire, which Lothair refused after being pressured by Innocent. At the same period the army of Lothair revolted, then Lothair, who had hoped for the complete conquest of Sicily, gave Capua and Apulia from the Kingdom of Sicily to Rogers enemies. Innocent protested, claiming that Apulia fell under papal claims, Lothair turned north, but died while crossing the Alps on December 4,1137. At the Second Council of the Lateran in April 1139, Innocent excommunicated Roger for maintaining a schismatic attitude, on March 22,1139, at Galluccio, Rogers son Roger III, Duke of Apulia ambushed the papal troops with a thousand knights and captured the pope. On March 25,1139, Innocent was forced to acknowledge the kingship and it was through his admiral George of Antioch that Roger then proceeded to conquer the Mahdia in Africa, taking the unofficial title King of Africa. At the same time Rogers fleet attacked the Byzantine Empire, making Sicily the leading power in the Mediterranean Sea for almost a century
Kingdom of Sicily
–
Roger II the first king of Sicily
Kingdom of Sicily
–
Flag
Kingdom of Sicily
–
The royal mantle
Kingdom of Sicily
–
Imperial troops storming
Salerno in 1194
20.
Council of Italy
–
The Council of Italy, officially, the Royal and Supreme Council of Italy was a ruling body and key part of the government of the Spanish Empire in Europe, second only to the monarch himself. It administered the Habsburg territories in Italy, the Kingdom of Naples, the Kingdom of Sicily, before the 1558 creation of the Council, Spanish possessions in Italy were administered by the Council of Aragon. By the year 1559, Spain had complete dominance over all Italian states with the exception of the Venetian Republic, all other Italian states were either ruled directly by Spain or were Spanish dependents. Naples, Sicily, and Sardinia, as well as Milan were those lands which came under direct Spanish rule, local councils and viceroys or governors controlled the internal affairs of these lands. In an effort to better coordinate Spanish rule in Italy, Philip II created the Council of Italy in Madrid in 1558, Naples, Sicily, and Milan were represented at the Council by two regents each. Sardinia remained under the jurisdiction of Council of Aragon, most of the Spanish viceroys and governors in Italy were Castilian rather than Italian, reflecting the Crowns desire to transform the Empire into a predominately Castilian one. Kingdom of Naples Kingdom of Sicily Italian War of 1551–59
Council of Italy
–
Territories administered by the
Council of Castile
21.
Conquistador
–
Conquistadors /kɒŋˈkɪstəˌdɔːrz/ is a term used to refer to the soldiers and explorers of the Spanish Empire or the Portuguese Empire in a general sense. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, Oceania, Africa and Asia, conquering territory and they colonized much of the world for Spain and Portugal in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. Portugal established a route to China in the early 16th century, sending ships via the southern coast of Africa, human infections gained worldwide transmission vectors for the first time, from Africa and Eurasia to the Americas and vice versa. The spread of diseases, including smallpox, flu and typhus. In the 16th century perhaps 240,000 Europeans entered American ports, by the late 16th century silver imports from America provided one-fifth of Spains total budget. The conquistadors were professional warriors, using European tactics, firearms and their units would often specialize in forms of combat that required long periods of training that were too costly for informal groups. Their armies were composed of Iberian and other European soldiers. Native allied troops were largely equipped with armament and armour that varied geographically. Some groups consisted of men without military experience, Catholic clergy which helped with administrative duties. These native forces often included African slaves and Native Americans and they not only fought in the battlefield but served as interpreters, informants, servants, teachers, physicians, and scribes. India Catalina and Malintzin were Native American women slaves who worked for the Spaniards, Castilian law prohibited foreigners and non-Catholics from settling in the New World. However, not all conquistadors were Castilian, many foreigners Hispanicised their names and/or converted to Catholicism to serve the Castilian Crown. For example, Ioánnis Fokás was a Castilian of Greek origin who discovered the strait that bears his name between Vancouver Island and Washington State in 1592, german-born Nikolaus Federmann, Hispanicised as Nicolás de Federmán, was a conquistador in Venezuela and Colombia. The origin of people in mixed expeditions was not always distinguished. Castilian law banned Spanish women from travelling to America unless they were married and accompanied by a husband, women who travelled thus include María de Escobar, María Estrada, Marina Vélez de Ortega, Marina de la Caballería, Francisca de Valenzuela, Catalina de Salazar. Some conquistadors married Native American women or had illegitimate children, European young men enlisted in the army because it was one way out of poverty. Catholic priests instructed the soldiers in mathematics, writing, theology, Latin, Greek, and history, Kings army officers taught military arts. An uneducated young recruit could become a leader, elected by their fellow professional soldiers
Conquistador
–
Conquistadors and their native
Tlaxcalan allies enter Tenochtitlan
Conquistador
–
The surrender of
Granada in 1492. The last
Moorish sultan of Granada,
Muhammad XII, before
Ferdinand and Isabella.
Conquistador
–
Christopher Columbus 's first landing in the Americas in 1492
Conquistador
–
Hernando De Soto and Spanish Conquistadores seeing the Mississippi River for the first time.
22.
Council of the Indies
–
The Council of the Indies, officially, the Royal and Supreme Council of the Indies, was the most important administrative organ of the Spanish Empire for the Americas and Asia. It was placed at start as a section under the jurisdiction of the Council of Castile and it had legislative, executive, the Crown of Castile incorporated the American and Asian territories into its domains by a papal bull issued by Pope Alexander VI. Queen Isabella withdrew the authority granted to Christopher Columbus and the first conquistadors, rodríguez de Fonseca effectively became minister for the Indies and laid the foundations for the creation of a colonial bureaucracy. He presided over a council, which contained a number of members of the Council of Castile, emperor Charles V was already using the term Council of the Indies in 1519. The Council of the Indies was formally created on August 1,1524, civil suits of sufficient importance could be appealed from an audiencia in the New World to the Council, functioning as a court of last resort. The large volume of Council and Crowns decisions and legislation for the Indies were formally codified in the 1680 publication, with the ascension of a new dynasty at the start of the eighteenth century, a series of administrative changes, known as the Bourbon reforms, were introduced. Fifty years later Charles III set up a separate Secretary of State for the Indies, during the Peninsular War, the Cádiz Cortes abolished the Council, but it was restored upon Ferdinand VIIs restoration. The Council was finally abolished in 1834, a year after Ferdinand VIIs death, the archives of the Council, the Archivo General de Indias one of the major centers of documentation for European history, are housed in Seville. American Provincial Deputation of Spain Spanish colonization of the Americas Spanish East Indies Burkholder, biographical Dictionary of Councilors of the Indies, 1717-1808
Council of the Indies
–
Colonization
23.
Laws of the Indies
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The Laws of the Indies are the entire body of laws issued by the Spanish Crown for the American and Philippine possessions of its empire. They regulated social, political and economic life in these areas and this became considered the classic collection of the laws, although later laws superseded parts of it, and other compilations were issued. The Spanish Viceroyalties in the Americas sometimes generated conflicts between peoples and the Spanish colonists. The Spanish attempted to control the Natives to force their labor, at the same time, conflicts on policy and implementation occurred between the encomenderos and the Crown. The Laws of Burgos, signed by King Ferdinand II of Aragon, the issue was revisited after Bartolomé de las Casas brought attention to abuses being carried out by encomenderos. The Laws of Burgos were revised by the New Laws of 1542 issued by Charles I and quickly revised again in 1552 and these were followed by the Ordinances Concerning Discoveries in 1573, which forbade any unauthorized operations against independent Native Americans. The Valladolid debate was the first moral debate in European history to discuss the rights and it consisted of a number of opposing views about the way natives were to be integrated into colonial life, their conversion to Christianity and their rights and obligations. According to the French historian Jean Dumont The Valladolid debate was a turning point in world history “In that moment in Spain appeared the dawn of the human rights”. To guide and regularize the establishment of presidios, missions, and pueblos and this comprehensive guide was composed of 148 ordinances to aid colonists in locating, building, and populating settlements. They codified the city planning process and represented some of the first attempts at a general plan, signed in 1573, the Laws of the Indies are considered the first wide-ranging guidelines towards design and development of communities. These laws were influenced by Vitruvius Ten Books of Architecture. In Book IV of the 1680 compilation of The Laws of the Indies, plans were set forth in detail on every facet of creating a community, including town planning. They shall try as far as possible to have the all of one type for the sake of the beauty of the town. The site and building lots for houses, fisheries, tanneries. These rules are part of a body of 148 regulations configuring any settlement according to the rule of Spain and this continued as a precedent in all towns under Spanish control until the relinquishing of the land to others, as in the case of the American colonies and their growth. The Laws of the Indies are still used as an example to design guidelines for communities today, the Laws specify many details of towns. A plan is centered on a Plaza Mayor of size within specified limits. The directions of the streets are chosen according to the prevailing winds, the guidelines recommend a hospital for non-contagious cases near the church, and one for contagious diseases further away
Laws of the Indies
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Colonization
24.
Royal Audiencia of Santo Domingo
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The Royal Audiencia of Santo Domingo was the first court of the Spanish crown in America. This audiencia would become part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain upon the creation of the two decades later. It also oversaw the provinces of Maracaibo, Margarita, Cumaná, Guyana, Barinas and Trinidad, from 1777 to 1786, the president of the Audiencia retained administrative oversight of Margarita, Cumaná and Caracas throughout the majority of the colonial period. Because Spain ceded Hispaniola to France in the Peace of Basel of 1795, the new Audiencia was set up the following year and called the Real Audiencia of Puerto Príncipe. This Audiencia maintained jurisdiction over Cuba, Puerto Rico, Louisiana, in 1838 the Real Audiencia of Havana was created, with the Puerto Príncipe retaining jurisdiction over the Eastern and Central departments of Cuba, since Spain had lost Florida and Louisiana. In 1831 the Real Audiencia of Puerto Rico was established, colony of Santo Domingo − Captaincy General of Santo Domingo Museo de las Casas Reales
Royal Audiencia of Santo Domingo
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Colonization
25.
Dominican Republic
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The Dominican Republic is a sovereign state occupying the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western one-third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, christopher Columbus landed on the Western part of Hispaniola, in what is now Haiti, on December 6,1492. The island became the first seat of the Spanish colonial rule in the New World, the Dominican people declared independence in November 1821 but were forcefully annexed by their more powerful neighbor Haiti in February 1822. After the 1844 victory in the Dominican War of Independence against Haitian rule the country again under Spanish colonial rule until the Dominican War of Restoration of 1865. The Dominican Republic experienced mostly internal strife until 1916, a civil war in 1965, the countrys last, was ended by another U. S. military occupation and was followed by the authoritarian rule of Joaquín Balaguer, 1966–1978. Since then, the Dominican Republic has moved toward representative democracy and has been led by Leonel Fernández for most of the time since 1996. Danilo Medina, the Dominican Republics current president, succeeded Fernandez in 2012, the Dominican Republic has the ninth-largest economy in Latin America and is the largest economy in the Caribbean and Central American region. Though long known for agriculture and mining, the economy is now dominated by services. Over the last two decades, the Dominican Republic have been standing out as one of the economies in the Americas – with an average real GDP growth rate of 5. 4% between 1992 and 2014. GDP growth in 2014 and 2015 reached 7.3 and 7. 0%, respectively, in the first half of 2016 the Dominican economy grew 7. 4% continuing its trend of rapid economic growth. Recent growth has been driven by construction, manufacturing and tourism, private consumption has been strong, as a result of low inflation, job creation, as well as high level of remittances. The Dominican Republic has a market, Bolsa de Valores de la Republica Dominicana. and advanced telecommunication system. Nevertheless, unemployment, government corruption, and inconsistent electric service remain major Dominican problems, the country also has marked income inequality. International migration affects the Dominican Republic greatly, as it receives, mass illegal Haitian immigration and the integration of Dominicans of Haitian descent are major issues. A large Dominican diaspora exists, mostly in the United States, contributes to development, the Dominican Republic is the most visited destination in the Caribbean. The year-round golf courses are major attractions, the island has an average temperature of 26 °C and great climatic and biological diversity. The country is also the site of the first cathedral, castle, monastery, and fortress built in all of the Americas, located in Santo Domingos Colonial Zone, a World Heritage Site. Music and sport are of importance in the Dominican culture, with Merengue and Bachata as the national dance and music
Dominican Republic
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The Pomier Caves are a series of 55 caves located north of San Cristobal in the Dominican Republic. They contain the largest collection of 2,000-year-old rock art in the Caribbean.
Dominican Republic
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Flag
Dominican Republic
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The
Alcázar of Colón, located in Santo Domingo, is the oldest
Viceregal residence in all of the Americas.
Dominican Republic
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Jean-Pierre Boyer the mulatto ruler of Haiti.
26.
Royal Audiencia of Mexico
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The Real Audiencia of Mexico or high court was the highest tribunal of the Spanish crown in the Kingdom of New Spain. The Audiencia was created by decree on December 13,1527. The First Audiencia was dissolved by the crown for its bungling and corruption, another Audiencia was created in Guadalajara in western Mexico in 1548. He initially established a government in the town of Coyoacán, south of Lake Texcoco, from here he governed with the title of Captain General and Justicia Mayor. The crown sent treasury officials to New Spain, asserting the right of the crown to the revenues from the conquered lands. During Cortéss expedition to Honduras, treasury officials were left in charge, after Cortéss return to Mexico City in 1526, the crown realized that to assert its power over him that a higher level of royal authority was needed and created the Audiencia of Mexico. The first Audiencia in Mexico was created in 1528 and headed by crown official Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán. Hernán Cortés, who as leader of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, had accrued considerable wealth, by setting up the Audiencia the crown sought to limit Cortéss personal power by creating the high court as an effective instrument of royal power. One scholar calls him a natural gangster, however, structurally the crown had set up a conflictive situation between the conquerors turned encomenderos and the high court determined to assert royal authority. The crowns choice of Nuño de Guzmán as president of the Audiencia was a major blunder, in 1532, the Viceroyalty of New Spain was created, although the first Viceroy, Don Antonio de Mendoza, would not arrive in Mexico until 1535. The Viceroy took over the functions of government from the Audiencia. In the following decade as more areas were conquered a second Audiencia was created in Guadalajara. Territorial evolution of Mexico History of New Spain Arregui Zamorano, Pilar, la Audiencia de México según los visitadores. México, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, the Audiencia of New Galicia in the Sixteenth Century. Gobierno y sociedad en Nueva España, segunda audiencia y Antonio de Mendoza, zamora, Gobierno del Estado de Michoacán, El Colegio de Michoacán
Royal Audiencia of Mexico
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Colonization
27.
Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire
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The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was one of the most significant events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Many of those on the Cortés expedition of 1519 had never seen combat before, in fact, Cortés had never commanded men in battle before. However, there was a generation of Spaniards who participated in expeditions in the Caribbean and Tierra Firme, learning strategy. The Spanish conquest of Mexico had antecedents with established practices, in their advance, the allies were tricked and ambushed several times by the people they encountered. When Cortés left Tenochtitlan to return to the coast and deal with the expedition of Pánfilo de Narváez, Alvarado allowed a significant Aztec feast to be celebrated in Tenochtitlan and on the pattern of the earlier massacre in Cholula, closed off the square and massacred the celebrating Aztec noblemen. The biography of Cortés by Francisco López de Gómara contains a description of the massacre, the Alvarado massacre at the Main Temple of Tenochtitlan precipitated rebellion by the population of the city. When the captured emperor Motecuhzoma II, now seen as a puppet of the invading Spaniards, attempted to calm the outraged populace. Cortés had returned to Tenochtitlan and his men fled the city during the Noche Triste in June,1520. The Spanish, Tlaxcalans and reinforcements returned a year later on August 13,1521 to a civilization that had wiped out by famine. This made it easier to conquer the remaining Aztecs, the fall of the Aztec Empire was the key event in the formation of the Spanish overseas empire, with New Spain, which later became Mexico, a major component. The Spanish conquerors could and did write accounts that narrated the conquest from the first landfalls in Mexico to the victory over the Mexica in Tenochtitlan on August 13,1521. Indigenous accounts are from particular native viewpoints and as the events had a impact on their polity. All accounts of the conquest, Spanish and indigenous alike, have biases, in general, Spanish accounts do not credit their indigenous allies support. Individual conquerors accounts exaggerate that individuals contribution to the conquest, downplaying other conquerors, indigenous allies accounts stress their loyalty to the Spanish and their particular aid as being key to the Spanish victory. Their accounts are similar to Spanish conquerors accounts contained in petitions for rewards and these were almost immediately published in Spain and later in other parts of Europe. Interestingly, Cortéss right-hand man, Pedro de Alvarado did not write at any length about his actions in the New World, two letters to Cortés about Alvarados campaigns in Guatemala are published in The Conquistadors. Rather than it being a petition for rewards for services, as many Spanish accounts were, the account was used by eighteenth-century Jesuit Francisco Javier Clavijero in his descriptions of the history of Mexico. On the indigenous side, the allies of Cortés, particularly the Tlaxcalans, wrote extensively about their services to the Spanish Crown in the conquest, the most important of these are the pictorial Lienzo de Tlaxcala and the Historia de Tlaxcala by Diego Muñoz Camargo
Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire
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Conquest of Mexico by
Cortés, oil on canvas.
Spanish: Conquista de México por Cortés
Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire
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Coat of arms of Villa Rica, Veracruz. First town council founded by Spaniards. Tile mosaic located in
Mexico City.
Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire
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Cortés scuttling fleet off Veracruz coast
Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire
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Palacio de Gobierno,
Tlaxcala city: Murals - Discussions between Tlaxcalans and Hernán Cortés.
28.
Central America
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Central America is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. Central America is bordered by Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the east, Central America consists of seven countries, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. The combined population of Central America is between 41,739,000 and 42,688,190, Central America is a part of the Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot, which extends from northern Guatemala through to central Panama. Due to the presence of several active faults and the Central America Volcanic Arc. Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur frequently, these disasters have resulted in the loss of many lives. In the Pre-Columbian era, Central America was inhabited by the peoples of Mesoamerica to the north and west. Soon after Christopher Columbuss voyages to the Americas, the Spanish began to colonize the Americas, the seven states finally became independent autonomous states, beginning with Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Guatemala, followed by El Salvador, then Panama, and finally Belize. Middle America is usually thought to comprise Mexico to the north of the 7 states of Central America as well as Colombia, usually the whole of the Caribbean to the north-east and sometimes the Guyanas are also included. According to one source, the term Central America was used as a synonym for Middle America as recently as 1962, in Brazil, Central America comprises all countries between Mexico and Colombia, including those in the Caribbean. Mexico, in whole or in part, is included by British people. For the people living in the 5 countries formerly part of the Federal Republic of Central America there is a distinction between the Spanish language terms América Central and Centroamérica, in the Pre-Columbian era, the northern areas of Central America were inhabited by the indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica. Most notable among these were the Mayans, who had built numerous cities throughout the region, and the Aztecs, following Christopher Columbuss voyages to the Americas, the Spanish sent many expeditions to the region, and they began their conquest of Maya territory in 1523. Soon after the conquest of the Aztec Empire, Spanish conquistador Pedro de Alvarado commenced the conquest of northern Central America for the Spanish Empire. Beginning with his arrival in Soconusco in 1523, Alvarados forces systematically conquered and subjugated most of the major Maya kingdoms, including the Kiche, Tzutujil, Pipil, and the Kaqchikel. By 1528, the conquest of Guatemala was nearly complete, with only the Petén Basin remaining outside the Spanish sphere of influence, the last independent Maya kingdoms – the Kowoj and the Itza people – were finally defeated in 1697, as part of the Spanish conquest of Petén. In 1538, Spain established the Real Audiencia of Panama, which had jurisdiction over all land from the Strait of Magellan to the Gulf of Fonseca. This entity was dissolved in 1543, and most of the territory within Central America then fell under the jurisdiction of the Audiencia Real de Guatemala. This area included the current territories of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Mexican state of Chiapas, the president of the Audiencia, which had its seat in Antigua Guatemala, was the governor of the entire area
Central America
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Central America, 1798
Central America
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Central America
Central America
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El Chorreron in El Salvador
Central America
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One of the hanging bridges of the skywalk at the
Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve in
Monteverde, Costa Rica disappearing into the clouds
29.
Royal Audiencia of Panama
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The Real Audiencia and Chancery of Panama in Tierra Firme was a governing body and superior court in the New World empire of Spain. The Audiencia of Panama was the third American audiencia after the ones of Santo Domingo and it existed three times under various guises since it first creation in 1538 until its ultimate abolition in 1751. The first Audiencia of Panama was created by Charles V by a decree of February 26,1538. A decree of May 23,1539, removed the entire province of Nicaragua from the Audiencia of Santo Domingo and placed under the Panama one. The Audiencia began functioning in Panama City in 1539 with the arrival of the Oidores Francisco Pérez de Robles, Lorenzo Pérez de la Serna, Pedro de Villalobos, Pérez de Robles served as the first audiencia president and replaced Governor Pedro Vásquez de Acuña. Pérez de Robles carried out his duties until 1543, when the Audiencia was decreed abolished and replaced with an Audiencia of the Confines in Guatemala, during this period the Audiencia supervised various voyages of exploration. Ultimately, the administration of Pérez de Robles proved to be corrupt, resulting in charges that led to a trial. The investigation and trial were carried out by Pedro Ramírez de Quiñones, on September 8,1563, Philip II decreed the return of the Audiencia from Guatemala to Panama. The Province of Guatemala was transferred to the Audiencia of Mexico, the work of moving the Audiencia was overseen by Lope García de Castro. The Audiencia began functioning again on May 15,1565, under interim president Manuel Barrios de San Millán, before the arrival of its permanent president, Alonso Arias de Maldonado. The jurisdiction of the new Audiencia of Panama consisted of territories between Buenaventura in the New Kingdom of Granada and the Gulf of Fonseca. In addition a decree of Philip III of July 19,1614 reiterated, the Audiencia was abolished once again in 1718 due to bad conduct of its members. This time the Isthmus was placed under the authority of the viceroy, nevertheless, this arrangement resulted in problems and poor government for the region, so the crown once more established the Panama Audiencia in a decree of July 21,1722. From 1739 on, the area of the Panama Audiencia formed part of the recently created Viceroyalty of New Granada, due to economic problems in Tierrafirme, the crown ordered the final abolition of the Audiencia in a decree of June 20,1751. A government headed by the military commander, the Comandancy General of Tierra Firme, was created in Panama. The Comandancy General was originally to be dependent on the Audiencia of Lima in judicial matters, but in 1752 they were transferred to the Audiencia of Bogotá
Royal Audiencia of Panama
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Colonization
30.
Panama
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Panama, officially called the Republic of Panama, is a country usually considered to be entirely in North America or Central America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, the capital and largest city is Panama City, whose metropolitan area is home to nearly half of the countrys 4.1 million people. Panama was inhabited by indigenous tribes prior to settlement by the Spanish in the 16th century. Panama broke away from Spain in 1821 and joined a union of Nueva Granada, Ecuador, when Gran Colombia dissolved in 1831, Panama and Nueva Granada remained joined, eventually becoming the Republic of Colombia. With the backing of the United States, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, in 1977 an agreement was signed for the total transfer of the Canal from the United States to Panama by the end of the 20th century, which culminated on 31 December 1999. Revenue from canal tolls continues to represent a significant portion of Panamas GDP, although commerce, banking, in 2015 Panama ranked 60th in the world in terms of the Human Development Index. Since 2010, Panama remains the second most competitive economy in Latin America, covering around 40 percent of its land area, Panamas jungles are home to an abundance of tropical plants and animals – some of them to be found nowhere else on the planet. There are several theories about the origin of the name Panama, some believe that the country was named after a commonly found species of tree. Others believe that the first settlers arrived in Panama in August, when butterflies abound, the best-known version is that a fishing village and its nearby beach bore the name Panamá, which meant an abundance of fish. Captain Antonio Tello de Guzmán, while exploring the Pacific side in 1515, in 1517 Don Gaspar De Espinosa, a Spanish lieutenant, decided to settle a post there. In 1519 Pedrarias Dávila decided to establish the Empires Pacific city in this site, the new settlement replaced Santa María La Antigua del Darién, which had lost its function within the Crowns global plan after the beginning of the Spanish exploitation of the riches in the Pacific. Blending all of the above together, Panamanians believe in general that the word Panama means abundance of fish and this is the official definition given in social studies textbooks approved by the Ministry of Education in Panama. However, others believe the word Panama comes from the Kuna word bannaba which means distant or far away, at the time of the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, the known inhabitants of Panama included the Cuevas and the Coclé tribes. These people have disappeared, as they had no immunity from European infectious diseases. The earliest discovered artifacts of indigenous peoples in Panama include Paleo-Indian projectile points, later central Panama was home to some of the first pottery-making in the Americas, for example the cultures at Monagrillo, which date back to 2500–1700 BC. These evolved into significant populations best known through their spectacular burials at the Monagrillo archaeological site, the monumental monolithic sculptures at the Barriles site are also important traces of these ancient isthmian cultures. Before Europeans arrived Panama was widely settled by Chibchan, Chocoan, the largest group were the Cueva. The size of the population of the isthmus at the time of European colonization is uncertain
Panama
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Vasco Núñez de Balboa, a recognized and popular figure of Panamanian history
Panama
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Flag
Panama
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"New Caledonia", the ill-fated Scottish
Darien scheme colony in the Bay of Caledonia, west of the
Gulf of Darien
Panama
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Santo Domingo Church
