slug: spain

label: Spain

description: country in southwestern Europe with territories in Africa

year_label: 324 BCE

text: Greek colonists found the city of Akra Leuka (modern Alicante, Spain) on the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula.

title: 324 BC

section: Events › By place › Greece

year_label: 270 BCE

section: Conflict & Security

text: Carthage, already in control of Sardinia, southern Spain and Numidia, is ruled by an oligarchy of merchants under two Suffetes or chief magistrates. While Carthage's military commanders are strong, the state relies on mercenaries (including Spanish ones) for its soldiers.

title: 270 BC

section: Events › By place › Carthage

section: Births

text: Hamilcar Barca, founder of Barcid Spain and leading Carthaginian general who will fight against Rome in Sicily and Italy, against the Libyans and the mercenary revolt in Africa, and against the Iberians and Celti-Iberians in Spain (d. 228 BC)

title: 270 BC

year_label: 226 BCE

text: The Greek merchants of Massilia, frightened by Carthaginian successes in Spain (including their exploitation of the Spanish silver mines), appeal to Rome. Rome makes an alliance with the independent Spanish port city of Saguntum south of the Ebro River.

title: 226 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

year_label: 221 BCE

section: Crime & Justice

text: The Carthaginian general Hasdrubal is murdered by a Celtic assassin while campaigning to increase the Carthaginian hold on Spain. Following the assassination of Hasdrubal, Hannibal, the son of the Carthaginian general, Hamilcar Barca, is proclaimed commander-in-chief by the army and his appointment is confirmed by the Carthaginian government.

title: 221 BC

section: Events › By place › Iberian Peninsula

year_label: 217 BCE

text: Publius Cornelius Scipio is sent with reinforcements by Rome to Spain as proconsul. In a naval battle on the Ebro River at Tarraco, the Carthaginian general Hasdrubal's fleet is largely destroyed by a daring surprise Roman attack led by Publius Cornelius Scipio and his brother Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus. As a result, the Romans are able to strengthen their hold on the Ebro River region.

title: 217 BC

section: Events › By place › Spain

year_label: 212 BCE

text: Syphax, king of the western Numidian tribe, the Masaesyli, concludes an alliance with the Romans and they send military advisers to help Syphax train his soldiers. He then attacks the eastern Numidians (the Massylii) ruled by Gala, who is an ally of the Carthaginians. The Carthaginian general Hasdrubal travels to northern Africa from Spain to stamp out the uprising by the Numidians.

title: 212 BC

year_label: 211 BCE

text: The Carthaginian general Hasdrubal Barca returns to Spain after his victory over the rebellious Numidians. He then manages to turn the tide against the Romans in Spain, with the Roman generals Publius Cornelius Scipio and his brother Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus killed in separate battles—Publius on the upper Baetis (Guadalquivir) and Gnaeus in the hinterland of Carthago Nova (Cartagena). The Carthaginians recover all their territory south of the Ebro.

title: 211 BC

year_label: 210 BCE

section: Deaths

text: Following the death of his father, Publius Cornelius Scipio, and his uncle, Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus, at the hands of the Carthaginians, the young Publius Cornelius Scipio takes over command of the Roman troops in Spain. His appointment reflects the Roman Senate's dissatisfaction with the cautious strategy of the propraetor, Gaius Claudius Nero, then commander in Spain north of the Ebro.

title: 210 BC

year_label: 209 BCE

text: From his headquarters at Tarraco (Tarragona), Publius Cornelius Scipio, the Roman commander in Spain, launches a combined military and naval assault on the Carthaginian headquarters at Carthago Nova (modern-day Cartagena). He successfully besieges and captures the city. In capturing this city, Scipio gains access to copious stores and supplies, Spanish hostages, the local silver mines, a splendid harbour and a base for an advance further south.

title: 209 BC

year_label: 206 BCE

text: The city of Italica (northwest of modern Seville, Spain) is founded by Scipio as a place to settle for the Roman soldiers wounded in the Battle of Ilipa.

title: 206 BC

text: In the Battle of Ilipa (Alcalá del Río, near Seville) in Spain, the Carthaginian generals, Mago Barca and Hasdrubal Gisco, are defeated by the Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio. Mago retreats to Gades (modern Cádiz) and then sails for the Balearic Islands.

title: 206 BC

year_label: 195 BCE

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: A Spanish revolt against Roman consolidation of the ex-Carthaginian colonies is effectively put down by Marcus Porcius Cato ("the Censor"). He avoids one defeat by paying the Celtiberians 200 talents (around 120,000 denarii), a much-criticised tactic. On Cato's return to Rome, Aemilius Paulus succeeds him as Roman governor in Spain.

title: 195 BC

year_label: 149 BCE

text: Servius Sulpicius Galba is prosecuted for corruption while serving in Spain, but is acquitted after he parades his weeping family members before the tribunal.

title: 149 BC

year_label: 134 BCE

text: Scipio Aemilianus, victor of Carthage, takes command in Spain against the Numantians. He recruits 20,000 men and 40,000 allies, including Numidian cavalry under Jugurtha. Scipio, an expert in sieges, builds a ring of seven forts and a ditch palisade before beginning the Siege of Numantia. The perimeter of the circumvallations is twice as long as that of the city. The river Durius (Douro), enables the defenders to be supplied by small boats.

title: 134 BC

year_label: 115 BCE

text: Gaius Marius is praetor in Rome: he defeats Celtic tribes in modern-day Spain.

title: 115 BC

year_label: 77 BCE

text: Pompeius marches along the Via Domitia through Gallia Narbonensis crossing the Pyrenees to Spain. He joins with Quintus Metellus Pius to suppress the revolt of Quintus Sertorius, but is at first unsuccessful.

title: 77 BC

year_label: 72 BCE

text: Perperna is defeated by Pompey the Great at the Battle of Osca, ending the Sertorian War in Spain.

title: 72 BC

year_label: 69 BCE

text: Gaius Julius Caesar is a quaestor in Spain.

title: 69 BC

year_label: 49 BCE

date: June

text: June – Caesar arrives in Spain; seizes the Pyrenees passes against the Pompeians L. Afranius and Marcus Petreius.

title: 49 BC

section: Events › By place and Date › Roman Republic

date: March 9

text: March 9 – Caesar advances against Pompeian forces in Spain.

title: 49 BC

year_label: 19 BCE

text: The Cantabrians, living on the northernmost coast of Spain, are brought under Roman control. The region is completely subdued until 16 BC.

title: 19 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Empire

text: Northern African Moors invade what is now Spain.

title: AD 169

text: Postumus revolts against Gallienus in Gaul. The western provinces of Britain and Spain join his independent realm—which is called in modern times the Gallic Empire.

title: 259

text: Gregory Bæticus, bishop of Elvira (Spain)

title: 392

text: Roman Civil war of 407–415:Constantine III, a general (magister militum), declares himself Roman emperor. To extend his dominion over Gaul and Spain, he takes practically all the Roman garrisons from Britain and crosses the English Channel. Constantine occupies Arles and establishes tenuous authority over Gaul, sharing control with marauding "barbarians". This is generally seen as the beginning of Rome's withdrawal from Britain.

title: 407

text: October 13 – The Vandals, led by King Gunderic, cross the Pyrenees into the Iberian Peninsula. They receive land from the Romans, as foederati, in Baetica (Southern Spain). The Alans occupy lands in Lusitania and the Suebi control parts of Gallaecia.

title: 409

text: King Gunderic, age 49, dies after a reign of 21 years, and is succeeded by his half-brother Genseric. He is styled with the title Rex Wandalorum et Alanorum ("King of the Vandals and Alans"). Genseric increases his power and wealth in the residence of the province of Hispania Baetica (Southern Spain).

title: 428

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Rechiar succeeds his father Rechila as king of the Suebi in Galicia (Northern Spain). He marries a daughter of the Visigoth king Theodoric I and converts to Catholicism.

title: 448

text: Winter – Majorian enters the Rhone Valley, and defeats the Burgundians under King Gondioc at Lugdunum. He forces the Bagaudae to join the western coalition against the Suebi in Spain.

title: 458

text: The Suebi live under a diarchy, and fight a civil war over the kingship in Galicia (Northern Spain).

title: 463

text: The Suevic nation in Galicia (Northern Spain) is unified under King Remismund.

title: 464

text: King Remismund establishes a policy of friendship with the Visigoths, and promotes the conversion of the Suebi into Arianism in Galicia (Northern Spain).

title: 465

text: The Visigoths capture the city of Dertosa in Catalonia. They arrest and execute the Roman usurper Peter, sending his head as a trophy to Zaragoza (Spain).

title: 506

section: Religion & Belief

date: November 6

text: November 6 – The Council of Tarragona (modern Spain) is held.

title: 516

section: Events › By topic › Religion

text: Byzantine forces under Liberius seize Granada (Andalusia) and occupy the old province of Baetica. Justinian I calls Belisarius out of retirement, to complete the consolidation of reconquered regions of Southern Spain.

title: 554

text: Liuvigild is declared co-king and heir after the second year of the reign of his brother Liuva I. He becomes ruler over the Visigoths in Hispania Citerior (Eastern Spain).

title: 568

text: The Visigoths under King Liuvigild invade Cantabria (Northern Spain), and destroy the city of Amaya (Burgos). He massacres the inhabitants and adds the province to the Visigothic Kingdom.

title: 574

text: The Visigoths under King Liuvigild invade the Suebian Kingdom (Northern Spain). Intermarriage between Goths and non-Goths is allowed in the Visigothic Kingdom (approximate date).

title: 575

text: The Visigoths under King Liuvigild establish the capital of their kingdom in Toledo, located in central Spain (approximate date).

title: 576

text: Hermenegild, son of Visigothic king Liuvigild, marries Ingund. He rebels against his father, starting in Seville (Southern Spain), and declares himself Catholic.

title: 579

text: King Liuvigild calls for an Arian synod in Toledo (central Spain), which modifies several doctrines; he tries to unify the Christians within the Visigothic Kingdom.

title: 580

text: The Visigoths under King Liuvigild capture the city of Mérida (western central Spain), which is under the political control of its popular bishop Masona. He is arrested and exiled for 3 years.

title: 582

text: King Eboric is deposed by his mother (second husband Andeca) who becomes the new ruler of the Kingdom of Galicia (Northern Spain) and the Suevi.

title: 584

text: The Visigoths under King Liuvigild devastate the Suevic Kingdom in Gallaecia (northwest Spain).

title: 585

text: April 27 – Umayyad conquest of Hispania: Muslim troops (7,000 men) led by Tariq ibn Ziyad land at Gibraltar, and begin their invasion of the Iberian Peninsula (now Spain and Portugal). Tariq begins his Islamic conquest of the Visigothic Kingdom, which during the decade he occupies and brings under Umayyad sovereignty.

title: AD 711

text: Musa ibn Nusayr and Tariq ibn Ziyad are summoned back to Damascus by caliph Al-Walid I. They are ordered to deliver all the spoils of war. Musa complains and is stripped of his rank. Abd al-Aziz, son of Musa, becomes governor of Al-Andalus (modern Spain).

title: 714

text: Umayyad conquest of Hispania: Arabs led by Tariq ibn Ziyad advance from the area La Rioja (modern-day Spain), and conquer the fortress city of León.

title: 715

text: Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa, governor of Al-Andalus (modern Spain), is assassinated on order of Caliph Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik. He is succeeded by his cousin Ayyub ibn Habib al-Lakhmi, who becomes interim "protector" (wali) for 6 months, and moves the capital to Córdoba, until replaced by Al-Hurr ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Thaqafi.

title: 716

section: Events › Byzantine Empire › Arabian Empire

text: Pelagius, king of Asturias (Spain) (b. 685)

title: AD 737

text: Favila, king of Asturias (Spain)

title: 739

text: The Berber tribes in the recently conquered region of Galicia (northwest Spain) rebel. This facilitates the establishment of an independent kingdom in the Cantabrian Mountains under King Alfonso I of Asturias.

title: 740

text: Battle of the Nobles: The Berber rebels under chieftain Khalid ibn Hamid al-Zanati defeat and overwhelm the Umayyad forces of Khalid ibn Abi Habib al-Fihri, near Tangier (Northern Morocco), undermining Arab domination in Islamic North Africa. The rebellion spreads in Al-Andalus (Spain), causing governor Ubayd Allah ibn al-Habhab to withdraw Moorish troops from many garrisons north of the Pyrenees.

title: 740

text: September – Abd al-Rahman I, a member of the Umayyad Dynasty, lands at Almuñécar in al-Andalus (modern Spain), where over the next years he will establish the Emirate of Córdoba.

title: 755

text: King Alfonso I ("the Catholic") dies at Cangas (modern Spain), after an 18-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Fruela I as ruler of Asturias.

title: AD 757

text: The city of Oviedo (Northern Spain) is founded by the monks Nolan and John (approximate date).

title: 761

text: King Aurelius dies after a 6-year reign, and is succeeded by his cousin-in-law Silo, as ruler of Asturias (Northern Spain).

title: 774

text: Aurelius, king of Asturias (Spain)

title: 774

text: A Frankish army (supported by Burgundians, Bavarians, Bretons, Lombards, and Visigoths) under King Charlemagne invades Al-Andalus (modern Spain), and conquers the cities of Pamplona and Barcelona. However, the Franks are halted at Zaragoza, in the thughur or frontier zone of the Emirate of Córdoba.

title: 778

text: Silo, king of Asturias (Spain)

title: 783

text: Mauregatus of Asturias, illegitimate son of the late king Alfonso I, usurps the throne after the death of his brother-in-law Silo. However, the nobility has elected Alfonso II at Adosinda's (wife of Silo) insistence, but Mauregatus assembles a large army of supporters, and forces Alfonso to flee to Álava (modern Spain). Adosinda is put in the monastery of San Juan de Pravia, where she lives out the rest of her life.

title: 783

text: The Frankish Kingdom conquers Girona and Urgell (modern Spain) from the Moors. The Franks divide Catalonia into 14 countships. Charlemagne suppresses a rebellion by count Hardrad of Thuringia.

title: 785

text: King Mauregatus of Asturias dies after a 5-year reign, and is succeeded by Bermudo I as ruler of Asturias (modern Spain).

title: 788

text: September 14 – Alfonso II, the son of former king Fruela I, becomes ruler of Asturias (Northern Spain). He moves the capital to Oviedo, the commercial centre of the region.

title: 791

text: Charlemagne creates the Hispanic Marches, a buffer zone beyond the former province of Septimania. A group of Iberian lordships form a defensive barrier between the Umayyad Moors of Al-Andalus (modern Spain) and the Frankish Kingdom.

title: 795

text: November – Al-Hakam I, Umayyad emir of Córdoba, reasserts his control over the city of Toledo, autonomous since 797. To this effect Al-Hakam has over 72 nobles (accounts talk of 5,000) massacred at a banquet, crucified and displayed along the banks of the Guadalquivir River (modern Spain), in what comes to be known as the "Day of the Trench".

title: 806

text: Al-Andalus (modern Spain): An uprising occurs in the city of Mérida against the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba.

title: 807

text: Aznar Galíndez I succeeds Aureolus, as count of Aragon (modern Spain). He is installed by King Louis the Pious (a son of emperor Charlemagne), and remains a Frankish vassal.

title: 809

text: Al-Andalus (modern Spain): The city of Mérida rises up against the Emirate of Córdoba.

title: 810

text: Felix, bishop of Urgell (Spain)

title: 818

text: Al-Hakam I, Umayyad emir of Córdoba, dies after a 26-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Abd al-Rahman II, who begins a military campaign against King Alfonso II of Asturias in Al-Andalus (modern Spain).

title: 822

text: Al-Andalus: The city of Merida (modern Spain) rises twice in one year against the Umayyad Emirate.

title: 828

text: Byzantine–Arab War: Muslim reinforcements from Ifriqiya and Al-Andalus (modern Spain) defeat Byzantine forces under Theodotus in Sicily, but a plague once again compels them to retreat to Mazara del Vallo, and evacuate to North Africa.

title: 830

text: Galindo Aznárez I, Frankish count, usurps the Catalan counties (pagi) of Pallars and Ribagorza, in the Spanish March (modern Spain), a buffer zone between the Pyrenees and the Ebro River.

title: 833

text: The first official mention of Andorra is recorded, in the manuscripts of the cathedral at La Seu d'Urgell (modern Spain).

title: 839

text: March 20 – King Alfonso II of Asturias (Northern Spain) dies after a 50-year reign, in which he undertook numerous campaigns against the Muslim armies of the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba, and allied himself with the late Charlemagne. The childless Alfonso chooses Ramiro I, son of former king Bermudo I, as his successor.

title: 842

text: Al-Andalus: The city of Zaragossa rises against the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba in modern-day Spain.

title: 843

text: Viking raiders ascend the River Garonne as far as the city of Toulouse, and pillage the lands of Septimania. Part of the marauding Vikings invades Galicia (Northern Spain), where some perish in a storm at sea. After being defeated in Corunna, the Scandinavian raiders sack the Umayyad cities of Seville (see below), Niebla, Beja, and Lisbon.

title: 844

text: The Mozarabs, Iberian Christians who live under Moorish rule, try to repopulate León in Al-Andalus (modern Spain). The city is recaptured by the Muslim Arabs.

title: 846

text: Frankish forces under Count (comté) William of Septimania assume authority over the counties of Barcelona and Empúries (modern Spain).

title: 848

text: Abd al-Rahman II, Umayyad emir of Córdoba, dies after a 30-year reign in which he has made additions to the Mosque–Cathedral at Córdoba. He is succeeded by his son Muhammad I, who will put down several revolts of the Muwalladun and Mozarabs in Muslim controlled areas in al-Andalus (modern Spain).

title: 852

text: King Ordoño I of Asturias is said to have begun the repopulation of the town of León in the northwest of Spain (approximate date).

title: 856

text: Viking raiders burn the mosques of Seville and Algeciras in al-Andalus (modern Spain).

title: 859

text: Al-Andalus: The city of Toledo (modern Spain) rises up for a second time against Umayyad rule, due to ethnic tensions over two years.

title: 873

text: Wilfred the Hairy, count of Barcelona, founds the Benedictine monastery at Ripoll, in Catalonia (Spain).

title: 879

text: March 1 – Diego Rodríguez Porcelos, count of Castile, founds and repopulates (repoblación) Burgos and Ubierna (Northern Spain), under the mandate of King Alfonso III of Asturias.

title: 884

text: The city of Toledo rises against the Umayyad Dynasty, in Al-Andalus (modern Spain).

title: 887

text: A ship carrying about twenty Arab freebooters, from Pechina in Al-Andalus (modern Spain), sets anchor in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez in Provence. They establish a fortified base at Fraxinet (modern-day La Garde-Freinet). After raiding the surrounding area, the Muslim colony is bolstered by contingents of Saracen adventurers.

title: 889

text: Muslim forces led by Abdullah ibn Muhammad al-Umawi, Umayyad emir of Córdoba, defeat the rebel leader Umar ibn Hafsun at Poley, in Al-Andalus (modern Spain).

title: 891

text: King Alfonso III repopulates the city of Zamora with Mozarabs (Iberian Christians who have lived under Moorish rule) from Toledo in Al-Andalus (modern Spain).

title: 893

text: Aznar II Galíndez, count of Aragon (Spain)

title: 893

text: Miro the Elder, count of Conflent (Spain)

title: 896

text: Sancho I succeeds Fortún I as King of Pamplona, and creates a Basque kingdom centered in Navarre (modern-day Spain).

title: 905

text: Rudesind I, bishop of Dumium (Spain)

title: 907

text: San Miguel de Escalada is built in León (Northern Spain) by orders of King García I (approximate date).

title: 913

text: January 19 – King García I dies at Zamora (Spain) after a 4-year reign. He is succeeded by his brother Ordoño II, who becomes king of Galicia and León. Ordoño continues his expansion and settles his court in León.

title: 914

text: January 19 – García I, king of León (Spain)

title: 914

text: Battle of San Esteban de Gormaz: Umayyad forces under Abi-Abda besiege the repoblación of San Esteban de Gormaz (Northern Spain). King Ordoño II of León (supported by his brother Fruela II of Asturias) allies himself with Sancho I, king of Pamplona, and defeats the Moors. Abi-Abda is captured and executed by decapitation.

title: 917

text: Raymond I, count of Pallars and Ribagorza (Spain)

title: 920

text: Galindo II Aznárez, count of Aragon (Spain)

title: 922

text: Miró II, count of Cerdanya and Besalú (Spain)

title: 927

text: Before August 16 – Sancho Ordóñez, king of Galicia (Spain)

title: 929

text: Ramiro II forces the abdication of his brother Alfonso IV and becomes king of León (Northern Spain). He has Alfonso and Fruela's three sons blinded in order to make them incapable of ruling.

title: 931

text: Alfonso IV, king of León and Galicia (Spain)

title: 933

text: Summer – The Hungarians invade Al-Andalus (modern Spain) and besiege the fortress city of Lerida. They devastate Cerdanya and Huesca, and capture Yahya ibn Muhammad ibn al Tawil, Umayyad governor (wali) of the town of Barbastro. Lacking food stores and sufficient forage, the Hungarians retreat to the Gothic March.

title: 942

text: Caliph Abd-al-Rahman III occupies the palace of Medina Azahara (called "the shining city") as the new capital of the Caliphate of Córdoba (modern Spain).

title: 945

text: Sunifred II, count of Urgell (Spain) (b. c. 870)

title: 948

text: Abd al-Rahman III the Caliph of Córdoba declares Jihad, preparing a large army & conquers the city of Lugo in the extreme North of Iberia. This raid shows to be one of the furthest raids Muslims in Spain ever conducted, done as a show of strength of the Muslim State in Al-Andalus.

title: 949

text: Bermudo Núñez, count of Cea (Spain) (approximate date)

title: 955

text: King Ordoño III dies at Zamora after a 5-year reign. He is succeeded by his half-brother Sancho I as ruler of León (modern Spain).

title: 956

text: June 14 – Guadamir, bishop of Vic (Spain)

title: 957

text: Ramiro III, king of León (Spain) (d. 985)

title: 961

text: October 15 – Caliph Abd-al-Rahman III dies after a 32-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Al-Hakam II as ruler of the Caliphate of Córdoba in Al-Andalus (modern Spain).

title: 961

text: Hisham II, caliph of Córdoba (Spain) (d. 1013)

title: 966

text: Atto, bishop of Vic (Spain) (approximate date)

title: 971

text: An offensive, by the Spain-based Caliphate of Córdoba brings the Maghrebi Idrisid Dynasty to an end. Caliph Al-Hakam II maintains the supremacy of the caliphate over the kingdoms of Navarra, Castile and León.

title: 974

text: Almanzor, a court official and regent of Córdoba, becomes a chamberlain (hajib) and seizes power from the 13-year-old Caliph Hisham II. During his reign, Almanzor will exercise strong influence over Subh (the mother of Hisham) and wages successful campaigns against the Christian kingdoms in Northern Spain.

title: 978

text: July 9 – Ramiro Garcés, king of Viguera (Spain)

title: 981

text: King Ramiro III of León loses his throne to Bermudo II (the rival king of Galicia), who also becomes ruler of the entire Kingdom of León (modern-day Spain).

title: 984

text: July 6 – The city of Barcelona is sacked by Moorish troops under Al-Mansur, the de facto ruler of Al-Andalus (modern-day Spain).

title: 985

text: June 26 – Ramiro III, king of León (Spain) (b. 961)

title: 985

text: Oliba Cabreta, count of Cerdanya and Besalú (Spain)

title: 990

text: Alfonso V (the Noble), king of León (Spain) (d. 1028)

title: 994

text: August 8 – Al-Mansur dies after a 24-year reign and is succeeded by his son Abd al-Malik al-Muzaffar as ruler (hajib) of the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba (modern Spain).

title: 1002

text: Moorish forces under vizier Abd al-Malik al-Muzaffar sack the Catalan city of Manresa (modern Spain).

title: 1004

text: Attilanus, bishop of Zamora (Spain) (b. 937)

title: 1007

text: Sulayman ibn al-Hakam reconquers the Caliphate of Córdoba in Al-Andalus (modern Spain) and deposes Hisham II. Sulayman becomes the fifth Umayyad caliph of Córdoba (until 1016).

title: 1013

text: April 19 – Hisham II, caliph of Córdoba (Spain) (b. 966)

title: 1013

text: Giselbert I, count of Roussillon (Spain) (or 1013)

title: 1014

text: February 24 – Borrell, bishop of Vic (Spain)

title: 1018

text: Abd al-Aziz al-Mansur, a grandson of the prominent Andalusian figure Almanzor begins his rule in Taifa of Valencia, a Moorish kingdom in Al-Andalus (modern Spain), ushering in a period of relative stability and prosperity that will last until 1061. Taifa of Valencia gained its independence from the Caliphate of Córdoba in 1010.

title: 1021

text: The Judge-Governor of Seville in Al-Andalus (modern Spain) takes advantage of the disintegration of the Caliphate of Córdoba and seizes power as Abbad I, founding the Abbadid dynasty.

title: 1023

text: Roger I of Tosny, a Norman nobleman, leaves the battlefield of the Ebro Valley after terrorising the Saracens and capturing several towns and castles during the Reconquista in the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain).

title: 1024

text: King Sancho Garcés III (the Great) conquers Castile (modern Spain) (approximate date).

title: 1028

text: August 7 – Alfonso V (the Noble), king of León (Spain) (b. 994)

title: 1028

text: September 4 – Battle of Tamarón: Ferdinand I defeats and kills his brother-in-law Bermudo III. Ferdinand becomes the king of Castile and León (modern Spain).

title: 1037

text: January 25 – Abbad I dies after a 19-year reign as independent ruler of the Taifa of Seville in Al-Andalus (modern Spain). He is succeeded by his son Abbad II (until 1069).

title: 1042

text: The Almoravids overrun modern-day Morocco, and establish an intercontinental kingdom, stretching from Spain to Senegal.

title: 1062

text: European warriors go to Spain, to participate in the siege of Barbastro. This expedition is sanctioned by Pope Alexander II – and is now regarded as an early form of Crusade.

title: 1064

text: Ebles II of Roucy leads a French army in Spain, to support King Sancho V of Aragon in his struggle against his Muslim neighbors.

title: 1073

text: King Alfonso VI ("the Brave") reaches an agreement with his cousin Sancho Ramírez, who is elected as king of Navarre. Alfonso annexes the territories of Álava, part of Gipuzkoa and La Bureba, he is crowned and adopts the title of Imperator totius Hispaniae ("Emperor of all Spain").

title: 1077

text: Battle of Cabra: Moorish forces, aided by Castilian knights under El Cid (Rodrigo Diaz), defeat and rout the invading army of Emir Abdallah ibn Buluggin of Granada, near the town of Cabra (modern Spain).

title: 1079

text: December 6 – Count Ramon Berenguer II of Barcelona is killed while hunting in the woods. He is succeeded by his twin brother Berenguer Ramon II as the sole ruler of Catalonia (modern Spain).

title: 1082

text: Reconquista: Castilian forces under Alfonso VI reconquer Talavera de la Reina in the Taifa of Toledo (modern Spain).

title: 1083

text: July – The Abbadid dynasty ruling in Al-Andalus (modern Spain) falls when Almoravid forces storm Seville. Confronted with this threat, Emir Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr Muhammad al-Aftas of Badajoz obtains the support of King Alfonso VI ("the Brave") of Castile, in exchange for the Moorish positions on the river Tagus (Sintra, Santarém and Lisbon).

title: 1091

text: May – El Cid (Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar) completes his conquest of Valencia in Al-Andalus (modern Spain) and begins his rule (in the name of King Alfonso VI) there. The Almoravid campaign to regain the city fails.

title: 1094

text: Reconquista: King Peter I of Aragon conquers Huesca from the Moors of the Taifa of Zaragoza. He expands his domains to the south, conquering land from Al Andalus (modern Spain). The capital is moved from Jaca to Huesca.

title: 1096

text: Summer – Almoravid forces launch a new campaign in Al-Andalus (modern Spain). Sultan Yusuf ibn Tashfin, leader of the Almoravid Empire, is honored with the title of Amir al Muslimin ("Commander of the Muslims").

title: 1097

text: October 18 – Reconquista: Peter I of Aragon conquers Barbastro (modern Spain) from the hands of the Almoravids.

title: 1100

text: Almoravid forces under Sultan Ali ibn Yusuf occupy Zaragoza (modern Spain), bringing all of Andalusia's Muslim states under Almoravid control.

title: 1110

text: Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona ("the Great"), sails to Rome in an effort to gain support from the Italian states and a licence from Pope Paschal II for his crusade against the Moors in Spain.

title: 1116

text: A large rebellion takes place in Córdoba (modern Spain) against the ruling Almoravid dynasty.

title: 1121

text: Diego Gelmírez, archbishop of Santiago de Compostela, declares a Crusade in Al-Andalus (modern Spain) against the Almoravids.

title: 1123

text: King Alfonso the Battler of Aragon and Navarre leads a Castellan raid in Andalusia (Southern Spain).

title: 1125

text: Summer – King Alfonso the Battler of Aragon and Navarre launches a campaign raid into Granada in Andalusia (modern Spain) against the Almoravids. In the aftermath, the Almoravid deport Jews and Christians from Andalusia to Morocco.

title: 1126

text: The Knights Templars appear in the North-East of Spain and are receiving privileges from King Alfonso I (the Battler). The Templars support him to regain land from the Almoravids. Alfonso grants them exemption of tax on a fifth of the wealth taken from the Muslims. The Templars found their first stronghold in Aragon.

title: 1131

text: Ramon Berenguer IV, count of Barcelona, launches a raid against Almoravid-held territories in Al-Andalus (modern Spain), and pillages the country all the way to Cádiz.

title: 1133

text: April 9 – William X (the Saint), duke of Aquitaine, dies while on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela (modern Spain). On his deathbed, he expresses his wish to see King Louis VI (the Fat) of France as protector of his 15-year-old daughter Eleanor, and to find her a suitable husband.

title: 1137

text: The first Cistercian monastery in Spain is founded in Fitero. The order enjoys a rapid expansion in the region in the following 15 years.

title: 1140

text: July 17 – King Alfonso VII of León and Castile, leads a campaign at the head of mixed armies of Catalonia, Genoa, Pisa and France. He besieges Almería in southern Al-Andalus (modern Spain); a Genoese fleet of 63 galleys and 163 other vessels, blockade the Almoravid-held port, which is captured after a 2-month siege on October 17.

title: 1147

text: The Almohad army conquers the last independent Muslim stronghold at Granada (modern Spain), after a six year siege.

title: 1154

text: The Almohad emir, Abd al-Mu'min, prepares a gigantic fleet of some four hundred ships to invade Al-Andalus (modern Spain). He dies the following year, before the fleet is completed.

title: 1162

text: Benjamin of Tudela, Spanish Jewish traveler, sets out on his journey from the northeast Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain), on a pilgrimage to the land of Israel and beyond.

title: 1165

text: Rueda Abbey is founded by Cistercians at Sástago, in the Kingdom of Aragon (modern Spain).

title: 1202

text: February – King Ferdinand III (the Saint) announces his intention to resume the Reconquista against the realm of the Almohad Caliphate. Caliph Yusuf II al-Mustansir dies and is succeeded by Abu Muhammad al-Wahid, but in Al-Andalus, two competing pretenders also claim their rights to the throne: Abu Muhammad Ibn al-Mansur al-Adil in Seville and Abu Muhammad abu Abdallah al-Bayyasi in Córdoba. The chronic political instability on the Almohad site allows Ferdinand to begin his campaign victoriously in October, with the capture of Quesada in Spain.

title: 1224

text: King James I (the Conqueror) launches a major offensive against the Almohads in Majorca. At the same moment, Emir Ibn Hud al-Yamadi (confronted by increasing Christian pressure) denounces Almohad rule in Murcia (modern Spain) and acknowledges the Abbasid Caliphate as legitimate overlord, in effect declaring independence. Other notable Christian success: King Alfonso IX of León conquers Mérida.

title: 1228

text: The University of Valladolid is founded in Spain.

title: 1241

text: Reconquista: King Afonso III of Portugal ("the Boulonnais") recaptures Faro and Silves in the Algarve from the Almohads, thus completing the expulsion of the Moors from Portugal. The Almohads also lose possession of Alicante in Al-Andalus (modern Spain).

title: 1249

text: Winter – Reconquista: King Alfonso X of Castile ("the Wise") conquers Niebla from the Moors, terminating any Muslim presence in the western region of Spain.

title: 1263

text: June – Marinid forces land in Spain and ravage the countryside. They kill and capture many and plunder livestock. They also attack the castle of Vejer de la Frontera in Andalusia. On hearing the news, King Alfonso X of Castile ("the Wise") abandons his meeting with Sultan Muhammad I of Granada and orders an all-out war against Granada.

title: 1272

text: May 13 – Marinid forces led by Sultan Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Abd al-Haqq land in Spain upon a call from Muhammad II, ruler of Granada. With a fleet of 20 ships organized at Ceuta, some 5,000 men are transported from Alcázar Seguir to Tarifa without meeting any significant Christian opposition. The Maranids raid as far as the towns of Vejer de la Frontera and Jerez.

title: 1275

text: Sultan Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Abd al-Haqq and Muhammad II, ruler of Granada, agree to a truce with King Alfonso X of Castile ("the Wise") for two years. Before Abu Yusuf leaves, Muhammad's secretary addresses a poem to Abu Yusuf, expressing fear of Castile's power and appealing for Marinid's continued support. Later, Abu Yusuf lands at Alcázar Seguir on January 19. This ending the first Marinid invasion in Al-Andalus (modern Spain).

title: 1276

text: July – Alfonso X of Castile allies himself with Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Abd al-Haqq, ruler of the Marinid Sultanate, who crosses the straits and establishes a camp at Zahara de la Sierra, in southern Spain. Alfonso offers the Castilian royal crown of his father and grandfathers as a pledge of re-payment of a loan. Out of pity, Abu Yusuf gives him 100,000 gold dinars.

title: 1282

text: Summer – Sultan Muhammad II drives the rebellious Banu Ashqilula from one stronghold to the next, where they are finally expelled from Granadan territory in Al-Andalus (modern Spain). Meanwhile, Muhammad manages through diplomatic intrigue, to turn the Castilian aristocracy against King Sancho IV. In response, King Alfonso III proclaims the 18-year-old Alfonso de la Cerda as ruler of Castile and León.

title: 1288

text: April 24 – Spanish kings James II of Aragon and Ferdinand IV of Castile persuade Pope Clement V to grant the papal bull Indesinentis cure, authorizing them approval and church financial support for a crusade to rid the Iberian peninsula of Islam, as well as to conquer Corsica and Sardinia. The two monarchs fail to mention their collaboration with the Muslim Marinid Empire, and use the papal bull to plan a blockade of the Strait of Gibraltar with their combined fleet of 40 warships on their mission to expel the Saracen forces from Spain.

title: 1309

text: March 20 – King Ferdinand IV, known as "Ferdinand the Summoned", grants new privileges to the Catholic Church within the Kingdom of Castile during an assembly at Palencia. In April, Ferdinand becomes seriously ill and is transferred to Valladolid, despite the opposition of his wife, Queen Constance, who wishes to transfer him to Carrión de los Condes (northern Spain).

title: 1311

text: February 8 (21 Shawwal 713 AH) – Sultan Nasr of Granada is forced to abdicate after 18 days as the ruler of the Emirate of Granada (in modern-day Spain) by his nephew, Abu'l-Walid Ismail I ibn Faraj, who is proclaimed at the Alhambra as the new Sultan.

title: 1314

text: March 20 (Easter Sunday) – Shepherds' Crusade (Le Pastoureaux): In France, a large group of common people band together in Normandy to begin a crusade, after a teenage shepherd says he was visited by the Holy Spirit. They march south to Aquitaine, attacking castles, royal officials, priests and lepers along the way. Jewish communes are attacked at Saintes, Cahors, Verdun-sur-Garonne, Albi and Toulouse. When they finally cross into Spain, Aragonese forces under Prince Alfonso halt their advance.

title: 1320

text: The School of Arts in Zaragoza, Spain is founded (later known as the University of Zaragoza in the 16th Century).

title: 1335

text: August 23 – Ismail II overthrows his uncle, Muhammed V, as Sultan of Granada (in modern-day Spain).

title: 1359

text: Muhammed VI overthrows his brother-in-law, Ismail II, as King of Granada (in modern-day Spain).

title: 1360

text: Muhammed V begins building the Maristan of Granada (a hospital) in Granada (in modern-day Spain).

title: 1365

text: The first widely accepted historical reference is made to playing cards (in Spain).

title: 1371

text: April 12 – At Almazán, now part of Spain but at the time a town in the Kingdom of Castile and León, a peace agreement is executed by King Enrique II of Castile and King Pedro IV of Aragon, with the two monarchs agreeing to the wedding of Enrique's son and Pedro's daughter.

title: 1374

text: January 24 – Eleanor of Arborea, regent for her son Marianus V of the independent Judicate of Arborea, on the island of Sardinia, signs a peace agreement with the Crown of Aragon in Spain, ending a war between the two nations.

title: 1388

text: August 15 – King Enrique III of Castile and León (comprising most of Spain) signs a peace treaty with his brother-in-law, King João I of Portugal, ending fighting that began in 1396. The wives of the two kings, Catherine of Lancaster and Philippa of Lancaster respectively, are sisters.

title: 1402

text: June 3 – The coronation of Eleanor of Castile, wife of King Carlos III of Navarre, as Queen of Navarre takes place in Pamplona, now in Spain.

title: 1403

text: September 16 – After a siege of almost four months, the Muslim city of Antequera, located in what is now Andalusia in Spain, surrenders to the Crown of Castile and its army, commanded by Prince Ferdinand of Aragon.

title: 1410

text: July 22 – In a royal wedding at the cathedral in Madrigal de las Altas Torres in the Kingdom of Castile (now in Spain) Princess Isabella of Portugal, cousin of King Afonso VI, marries King Juan II of Castile.

title: 1447

text: September 23 – Pope Calixtus III issues a papal bull granting a seven-year indulgence to any Christian who makes a pilgrimage to Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza in Spain's Kingdom of Aragon

title: 1456

text: March 6 – The Treaty of Toledo is signed as Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain recognize the African conquests of Afonso V of Portugal, and he cedes the Canary Islands to Spain.

title: 1480

text: December 28 – The city of Zahara de la Sierra, now part of Spain, is captured by the Moorish Emir Abu'l-Hasan Ali of Granada in a surprise attack, leading to a counterattack by the Kingdom of Castile two months later.

title: 1481

text: February 28 –The village of Alhama de Granada in Spain is taken by Christian forces, starting the Granada War to expel the Moors from the Iberian Peninsula.

title: 1482

text: April 29 – Gran Canaria, the main island of the Canary Islands, is conquered by the Kingdom of Castile, a very important step in the expansion of Spain. Of 4,000 Castilian troops, 800 are killed and 1,600 others are taken as prisoners of war.

title: 1483

text: February 11 – The General Council of the Inquisition is created in Spain.

title: 1483

text: September 15 – Peter Arbues is assaulted while praying in the cathedral at Zaragoza in the Kingdom of Aragon, now part of Spain; he dies on September 17. He had been appointed Inquisitor of Aragon by the Inquisitor General, Tomás de Torquemada, in the campaign against heresy and Spanish Judaism.

title: 1485

text: April 23 – The city of Granada, capital of the Muslim Emirate of Granada in Spain, is besieged by the armies of Castile and Aragon, ruled by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella.

title: 1491

text: May 23 – At the shipbuilding town of Palos de la Frontera in Spain, an April 30 decree of Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand of Aragon is read aloud to the residents, directing that two ships are to be delivered to Christopher Columbus and people chosen by the Pinzon brothers will be required to travel on the voyage westward "by command of Their Highnesses").

title: 1492

text: June 7 – Treaty of Tordesillas: Spain and Portugal divide the New World between themselves.

title: 1494

text: May 31 – First Battle of Acentejo: Natives of the island of Tenerife, known as Guanches, defeat the invading Spanish forces.

title: 1494

text: April 11 – The Rebellion in the Alpujarras ends in southern Spain with a treaty of surrender of the last Muslim insurgents in the Alpujarra Mountains in Andalusia on the Mediterranean Sea. The Muslims are given the choice of expulsion or conversion to Christianity.

title: 1501

text: November 4 – Philip and Joanna of Castile leave for Spain.

title: 1501

text: May 9 – Christopher Columbus leaves Cadiz in Spain for his fourth and final trip to the New World, taking with him 147 men on his flagship, Capitana and the companion ships Gallega, Vizcaína, and Santiago de Palos. He explores Central America, and discovers the Isthmus of Panama and the land now occupied by Honduras, and Costa Rica, and possibly the island of St. Lucia as well

title: 1502

text: October 8 – Portuguese explorer Juan Díaz de Solís departs from Sanlúcar de Barrameda in Spain with three ships and 70 men on a disastrous expedition toward the southern part of the continent of South America. Soon after landing at what is now Uruguay, Díaz and most of his crew are killed by the Charrúa people shortly after their arrival in January.

title: 1515

text: August 10 – The Magellan expedition departs from Seville in Spain.

title: 1519

text: May 20 – At the Battle of Pampeluna in Spain, and alliance of forces from French and the Kingdom of Navarre forces defeat those of Spain.

title: 1521

text: June 17 – The Narváez expedition to conquer Florida sets sail from Spain.

title: 1527

text: Spanish Conquistador Francisco de Montejo attempts an invasion of the Yucatán, but is driven out by the Maya peoples.

title: 1528

text: February 14 – Tangaxuan II, last cazonci of the Purépecha Empire, is executed by conquistador Nuño de Guzmán, ending the Purépecha Empire's independence from Spain.

title: 1530

text: February 8 – The Holy League, an alliance of Christian nations (the Papal States and the Republic of Venice, the Knights Hospitaller of Malta, Spain and the Spanish-ruled Viceroyalty of Naples and Sicily), is agreed upon under the direction of Pope Paul III and Venetian Senator Alvise Badoer.

title: 1538

text: January 5 – Abu al-Abbas Ahmad III, ruler of the Hafsid Sultanate in what is now Tunisia in northern Africa, renews the 1547 treaty of friendship with Spain that had been signed by representatives of his father.

title: 1548

text: August 5 – The University of Santa Catalina is authorized in Spain by a canonical bull from Pope Julius III.

title: 1550

text: October 3 – Princess Anna of Austria arrives in Spain to become the Queen Consort of Spain as the bride of her uncle King Philip of Spain, whom she had married by proxy on May 4. Having traveled through the Netherlands, she asks King Philip to spare the life of the rebel Floris of Montmorency, but the King arranges the strangulation of Floris on October 14.

title: 1570

text: La Alameda, Seville, is laid out in Spain, as Europe's first public garden.

title: 1574

text: April 14 – Battle of Mookerheyde: Spanish forces under Sancho de Avila defeat the rebel forces of Louis of Nassau, who is killed.

title: 1574

text: October 3 – The city of Leiden, besieged by the Spanish, is relieved by a Sea Beggars fleet under Louis Boisot.

title: 1574

text: December 13 – Francis Drake leaves Plymouth, England, aboard the Pelican, with four other ships and 164 men, on an expedition against the Spanish, along the Pacific coast of the Americas, which will become his circumnavigation.

title: 1577

text: April 16 – Spanish conquistador Hernando de Lerma founds the settlement of Salta, Argentina.

title: 1582

text: December 31 – The Treaty of Joinville is signed secretly between the French Catholic League and the Spanish citizens .

title: 1584

text: June 9 – Battle of Fontaine-Française: Henry IV of France defeats the Spanish, but is nearly killed due to his rashness.

title: 1595

text: March 11 – Amiens is taken by Spanish forces.

title: 1597

text: July 29 – Juan de Zúñiga Flores, Bishop of Cartagena, becomes the Grand Inquisitor of Spain but serves for only five months before his death at the age of 55.

title: 1602

text: January 12 – The Basque witch trials are started in Spain as the court of the Inquisition at Logroño receives a letter from the commissioner of the village of Zugarramurdi, and orders the arrest of four women, including María de Jureteguía and María Chipía de Barrenetxea.

title: 1609

text: June 29 – A fleet of ships from the Kingdom of Spain, assisted by a French warship, fights a battle in the Mediterranean Sea against a larger fleet of 23 ships from the North African Eyalet of Tunisia and sinks 21 of them. The other two Tunisian ships are captured.

title: 1609

text: November 20 – The cession of Larache, a port in Morocco, takes place as Mohammed esh Sheikh el Mamun, Sultan of Morocco, transfers control of the city to Spain in return for. The Marquis de la Hinojosa accepts on behalf of King Felipe III of Spain in return for Spain's aid to the Sultan's fight against the Sultan's brother, Zidan Abu Maali. Larache remains under Spanish control for the next 79 years until another sultan retakes it.

title: 1610

text: October 5 – The Spánverjavígin, the last massacre to be carried out in Iceland, begins as 14 Basque Whalers from Spain are murdered at Thingeyri while sleeping. Another 18 are killed on October 13, including Captain Martín de Villafranca. The 31 had been survivors of a shipwreck on Iceland in September.

title: 1615

text: April 14 – Second Battle of Playa Honda: The Spanish navy defeats a Dutch fleet in the Philippines.

title: 1617

text: October 9 – The Treaty of Pavia is signed between Spain and Savoy, under which Savoy returns Monferrato to Mantua.

title: 1617

text: June 5 – Eighty Years' War: Spanish troops under Ambrogio Spinola conquer Breda, after a nine-month siege.

title: 1625

text: September 7 – The Treaty of Southampton makes an alliance between England and the Dutch Republic, against Spain.

title: 1625

text: July 20 – Eighty Years' War: Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, begins the Siege of Grol, the last Spanish stronghold in the eastern Netherlands, and captures it after 30 days.

title: 1627

text: March 15 – Start of the Battles of La Naval de Manila, a series of five naval battles fought between the Dutch Republic and Spain in the waters of the Philippines.

title: 1646

text: November 8 – The Battle of Arronches takes place near the town of Arronches on the Portuguese side of the border between Portugal and Spain, with the Portuguese Army outflanking and defeating a larger Spanish force.

title: 1653

text: May 10–27 – Anglo-Spanish War: Invasion of Jamaica – Forces of the English Protectorate led by William Penn and Robert Venables capture the island of Jamaica from Spain.

title: 1655

text: May 27 – William Morice takes office as the first Secretary of State for the Northern Department in Great Britain, with responsibility for conducting foreign relations with the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Poland, Russia, and the Holy Roman Empire. Relations with France, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, the Italian states, and the Ottoman Empire are assigned to the Secretary of State for the Southern Department. The position will eventually evolve into the office of the Foreign Secretary.

title: 1660

text: April 28 – Juan Alonso de Cuevas y Dávalos is appointed as the new Roman Catholic Archbishop of Mexico by Pope Alexander VII, to allow Archbishop Mateo de Sagade de Bugueyro to return to Spain. Archbishop Cuevas is installed on November 15 upon his arrival in Mexico City.

title: 1664

text: August 10 – The Siege of Lille, at this time part of the Spanish Netherlands (modern-day Belgium) begins and becomes the only major engagement of the "War of Devolution" between France and Spain. The Spanish Army surrenders after 16 days.

title: 1667

text: May 24 – After King Philip IV of Spain reneges on payment of a large dowry to King Louis XIV of France, promised to Louis as a gift for Louis' marriage to Philip's daughter Princess Maria Theresa, the War of Devolution begins between France and Spain. The French Army invades the Spanish Netherlands (modern-day Belgium), entering Flanders and Franche-Comté. By the time the war ends on May 2, 1668, parts of the Spanish Netherlands are ceded to France.

title: 1667

text: July 18 (July 8, O.S.) – The Treaty of Madrid, also known as the Godolphin Treaty, is signed between England and Spain to formally end hostilities left over from the Anglo-Spanish War, in the Caribbean, that ended ten years earlier. For the first time, Spain acknowledges that it is not entitled to all territory in the Americas west of Brazil, as provided by the 1493 line of demarcation decreed by Pope Alexander VI, and by the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas between Spain and Portugal. Spain acknowledges that Jamaica and the Cayman Islands are English possessions.

title: 1670

text: March 15 – A tornado kills more than 600 people in the city of Cádiz in Spain.

title: 1671

text: August 21 – In the Pueblo Revolt, the native Pueblo people capture Santa Fe (now in New Mexico) from the Spanish colonists.

title: 1680

text: July 9 – The Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg) is founded, in response to claims made by Louis XIV of France on the Electorate of the Palatinate in western Germany. It comprises the Holy Roman Empire, the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, the electors of Bavaria, Saxony and the Electorate of the Palatinate.

title: 1686

text: September 4 – A hurricane saves Charleston, South Carolina from attack by Spanish vessels.

title: 1686

text: After 23 years of construction, Spain completes Castillo de San Marcos to protect St. Augustine, Florida, from foreign threats.

title: 1695

text: August 10 – The Siege of Barcelona ends in Spain after 52 days as Louis Joseph, Duke of Vendôme of France obtains the surrender of Barcelona from the Austrian General, Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt.

title: 1697

text: March 7 – War of the Spanish Succession: Prince Karl of Habsburg, brother of Joseph I, the Holy Roman Emperor and a pretender to the throne of Spain, arrives in Portugal on the English warship HMS Royal Katherine as part of George Rooke's English fleet sailing into Lisbon.

title: 1704

text: October 14 – Woodes Rogers returns to England after a successful round-the-world privateering cruise against Spain, carrying loot worth £150,000.

title: 1711

text: June 5 – Reus in Catalonia, Spain is given the title of imperial city by Elisabeth Christine, wife of Archduke Charles.

title: 1712

text: December 21 – Victor Amadeus, Duke of Savoy is crowned King of Sicily at Palermo, and his wife Anne Marie is crowned as Queen consort. The coronation follows Spain's recognition of Sicilian independence, effective September 22, as part of the Treaty of Utrecht.

title: 1713

text: December 9 – As part of the agreements made at Utrecht to end the War of the Spanish Succession, Great Britain and Spain sign a treaty of commerce and navigation.

title: 1713

text: May 27 – Spain creates the Viceroyalty of New Granada in South America from the northern section of the Viceroyalty of Peru. The viceroyalty, with a capital at Bogotá, later declares independence and splits up into what become the nations of Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela.

title: 1717

text: February 17 – The Treaty of The Hague is signed between Spain, Britain, France, Austria and the Dutch Republic, ending the War of the Quadruple Alliance with effect from May 20.

title: 1720

text: February 22 (February 11, 1726 O.S.) – Spain besieges the British-held territory of Gibraltar, in order to recapture it. Britain's Royal Navy begins a blockade of Spanish ports and the unsuccessful siege ends with the signing of a truce on June 24.

title: 1727

text: June 23 – Spain ceases hostilities after its attempt to recapture Gibraltar from Britain fails. A truce is signed the next day.

title: 1727

text: June 14 – The Congress of Soissons opens at the French town of Soissons to negotiate a treaty between Great Britain and Spain. The treaty, which is concluded on November 9, 1729, recognizes the Spanish royal family's rule of parts of Italy, and Britain's possession of Gibraltar and Menorca.

title: 1728

text: November 9 – The Treaty of Seville is signed between Great Britain, France, Spain and the Dutch Republic.

title: 1729

text: April 9 – British trader Robert Jenkins has his ear cut off after his ship, Rebecca is boarded by Spanish coast guards at Havana in Cuba. The incident becomes the casus belli for the War of Jenkins' Ear in 1739.

title: 1731

text: March 16 – The Treaty of Vienna is signed between the Holy Roman Empire, Great Britain, the Dutch Republic and Spain.

title: 1731

text: July 2 – Spain completes the conquest of the Algerian cities of Oran and Mers El Kébir in the Oran Province, after a 17-day siege.

title: 1732

text: January 5 – Spain and the Holy Roman Empire sign instruments of cession at Pontremoli in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in Italy, with the Empire receiving control of Tuscany and the Grand Duchy of Parma and Piacenza, in return for Don Carlos of Spain being recognized as King of Naples and King of Sicily.

title: 1737

text: March 16 – In Paris, representatives of Spain and Portugal sign an armistice bringing an end to the Spanish–Portuguese War over the area now occupied by the nation of Uruguay and the area now occupied by the state of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil. The news does not reach the fighting parties until five months later.

title: 1737

text: March 28 – Mariner Robert Jenkins presents a pickled ear, which he claims was cut off by a Spanish captain in the Caribbean in 1731, to the Parliament of Great Britain, which votes, 257 to 209, for war against Spain, leading to the War of Jenkins' Ear the following year.

title: 1738

text: July 7 – War of Jenkins' Ear: Battle of Bloody Marsh – British troops repel those of Spain (under Montiano), in the Province of Georgia.

title: 1742

text: May – In Peru, Juan Santos takes the name Atahualpa II, and begins an ill-fated rebellion against Spanish rule. Father Domingo Garcia sends the first report of the rebellion to his superiors on June 2.

title: 1742

text: October 12 – War of Jenkins' Ear – Battle of Havana: a British Caribbean squadron engages a Spanish squadron based near Havana.

title: 1748

text: January 13 – The Treaty of Madrid between Spain and Portugal authorizes a larger Brazil than had the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494, which originally established the boundaries of the Portuguese and Spanish territories in South America.

title: 1750

text: October 5 – Treaty of Madrid: Spain and Great Britain sign a treaty temporarily eliminating their hostility over their colonies in North and South America. In addition to both sides dropping their claims for damages against each other, Spain agrees to pay the South Sea Company £100,000 for damage claims.

title: 1750

text: April 12 – The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Spain's Royal Academy of the Fine Arts, is formally established in Spain, eight years after first being proposed to King Fernando VI by Jeronimo Antonio Gil as a small school in Madrid. The foundation of the Royal Academy is considered by historians to be "an essential step in modernizing Spain" during the Spanish Enlightenment.

title: 1752

text: November 12 – Spain's King Fernando VI issues a set of 25 regulations and restrictions for theatrical performances, including a requirement that the directors of the acting troupes "take the greatest care that the necessary modesty is preserved" and that the actors should be reminded that chastity requires that "indecent and provocative" dances should be avoided.

title: 1753

text: November 26 – A 500-man force from the Army of Spain brings the revolt of Mexico's Maya population to an end, capturing the Yucatan village of Cisteil, killing about 500 of the 2,500 Mayan defenders and losing 40 of their own. The Spaniards arrest 254 people, including Jacinto Canek, who had proclaimed himself as King Canek Montezuma of the Mayas. Canek and eight other rebellion leaders are executed less than three weeks later.

title: 1761

text: July 6 – The last British troops depart Havana, Cuba, two years after having captured it from Spain during the Seven Years' War. The removal of troops follows the treaty between the two Kingdoms, with Spain ceding West Florida to Great Britain in return for the Havana withdrawal.

title: 1764

text: February 14 – Spain's five-member "special junta", appointed by Prime Minister Jerónimo Grimaldi, delivers its report regarding "ways to address the backwardness of Spain's commerce with its colonies and with foreign nations". The report provides detailed orders to be delivered to José de Gálvez, the visitador general in charge of New Spain.

title: 1765

text: April 12 – Spain and France secretly sign the Convention of Aranjuez, with Spain joining an alliance against Great Britain in return for France's pledge to recover all Spanish territory lost to the British.

title: 1779

text: February 1 – French Revolutionary Wars: The French First Republic declares war on Great Britain, the Dutch Republic and (on March 7) Spain. During the year, the War of the First Coalition is joined by Portugal, the Holy Roman Empire, Naples and Tuscany in opposition to France.

title: 1793

text: July 20 – First Republic of New Granada: Patria Boba: A junta of seven patriots, led by José Acevedo y Gómez, assemble in Bogotá in the Viceroyalty of New Granada (modern-day Colombia), to declare its independence from the Spanish Empire, the first South American nation to break away from Spain as the third oldest independent republic state after Haiti.

title: 1810

text: October 21 – Siege of Burgos: British troops under Arthur Wellington are forced to abandon the siege of Burgos after a month. Meanwhile, Joseph Bonaparte makes plans to recapture Madrid. He assembles an army led by Louis-Gabriel Suchet and Jean-de-Dieu Soult to drive Wellington out of central Spain.

title: 1812

text: June 20 – Gaspar de Vigodet, Spain's last colonial administrator of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (covering nearly all of modern-day Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay), surrenders the city of Montevideo to independence fighters, led by General Carlos María de Alvear.

title: 1814

text: July 7 – July 1822 Spanish coup d'état, an attempt by supporters of Ferdinand VII to overthrow the Liberal government of Spain, fails.

title: 1822

text: October 20 – The Congress of Verona opens in the Austrian-ruled province of Lombardy-Venetia. The event is the largest diplomatic gathering since the Congress of Vienna seven years earlier. The Congress lasts until December 14, and Russia, Austria and Prussia approve French intervention in Spain.

title: 1822

text: January 22 – By secret treaty signed at the Congress of Verona, the Quintuple Alliance gives France a mandate to invade Spain for the purpose of restoring Ferdinand VII (who has been captured by armed revolutionary liberals) as absolute monarch of the country.

title: 1823

text: May 15 – Spanish financial group, Banco Santander founded in Cantabria, Spain.

title: 1857

text: June 24 – Spain cedes its last Pacific Ocean colonies, the Caroline Islands (later part of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Ladrone islands of Ladrone (later part of the Mariana Islands), and Palau, to Germany.

title: 1899

text: April 26 – Atlético Madrid is founded as a professional association football club in Spain.

title: 1903

text: April 8 – Hundreds of people are killed in Spain in the collapse of a dam holding back a reservoir near Madrid.

title: 1905

text: December 25 – The German cruiser Admiral Hipper attacks a British shipping convoy (WS 5A) en route to Sierra Leone 700 miles (1,100 km) west of Cape Finisterre in Spain. Admiral Hipper sinks one ship but has to withdraw with engine trouble.

title: 1940

text: March 11 - Resistance leader Joop Westerweel is arrested while returning to the Netherlands, having escorted a group of Jewish children to safety in Spain.

title: 1944

text: November 4 – The United Nations ends the diplomatic isolation of Spain.

title: 1950

text: April 19 – The 5.0 1956 Atarfe-Albolote earthquake strikes southern Spain killing 12 and injuring dozens more.

title: 1956

text: April 1 – The Treaty of Angra de Cintra is signed by Spain and Morocco, ending the Spanish protectorate in Morocco.

title: 1958

text: October 23 – Charles de Gaulle becomes the first French Co-Prince of Andorra to visit his Andorran subjects. In addition to being President of France, de Gaulle is a joint ruler (along with Spain's Bishop of Urgel) of the tiny nation located in the mountains between France and Spain, pursuant to the 1278 agreement creating the nation.

title: 1967

text: April 9 – Fermín Monasterio Pérez is murdered by ETA in Biscay, Spain; the 4th victim in the name of Basque nationalism.

title: 1969

text: February 28 – The 1969 Portugal earthquake hits Portugal, Spain and Morocco.

title: 1969

text: January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco.

title: 1969

text: September 27 – Richard Nixon begins a tour of Europe, visiting Italy, Yugoslavia, Spain, the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.

title: 1970

text: April 9 – Spain legalizes the Communist Party of Spain, which had been outlawed since 1939.

title: 1977

text: January 19 – An Ejército del Aire CASA C-207C Azor (registration T.7-15) plane crashes into the side of a mountain near Chiva, on approach to Valencia Airport in Spain, killing all 11 people on board.

title: 1977

text: April 12 – El Descanso bombing: A terrorist bombing attributed to the Islamic Jihad Organization in the El Descanso restaurant near Madrid, Spain, mostly attended by U.S. personnel from the Torrejón Air Base, causes 18 deaths (all Spaniards) and 82 injuries.

title: 1985

text: February 4 – The border between Gibraltar and Spain reopens for the first time since Francisco Franco closed it in 1969.

title: 1985

text: January 1 – Spain and Portugal enter the European Community, which becomes the European Union in 1993.

title: 1986

text: September 17 – Basque conflict: Basque Homeland and Liberty reaches a ceasefire agreement with the government of Spain, the second such agreement in two years.

title: 1998

text: May 11 – A 5.1 earthquake strikes southern Spain, killing 9 people and injuring over 400.

title: 2011

text: October 27 – Based on the results of a previously held referendum, Catalonia declares independence from Spain, but the Catalan Republic is not recognised by the Spanish government or any other sovereign nation.

title: 2017

text: May 3 – The separatist group ETA officially announces its final dissolution after 40 years of conflict and more than 800 deaths in Spain.

title: 2018

text: September 19 – A 1634 edition of The Two Noble Kinsmen, the last play by English playwright William Shakespeare, is discovered at the Royal Scots College's library in Salamanca, Spain. It is believed to be the oldest copy of any of his works in the country.

title: 2020

text: April 28 – A widespread power outage affects Spain and Portugal for hours. Andorra is affected for a few seconds while southern France is lightly affected.

title: 2025


slug: spanish-empire

label: Spanish Empire

description: colonial empire governed by Spain between 1492 and 1976

date: December 29

text: December 29 – Third Italian War: The Battle of Garigliano takes place near Gaeta in Italy. Spanish forces under Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba defeat a French–Italian mercenary army under Marchese Ludovico II of Saluzzo; the French forces, who suffer 4,000 casualties, withdraw to Gaeta.

title: 1503

section: Events › October–December

date: February 23

text: February 23 – Third Italian War: Battle of Ruvo – The Spanish defeat the French in Italy.

title: 1503

section: Events › January–March

date: May 13

text: May 13 – Naples is captured by the Spanish.

title: 1503

section: Events › April–June

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Bermuda is discovered by Spanish explorer Juan de Bermúdez.

title: 1505

section: Events › Date unknown

date: May 2

text: May 2 – Juan Ponce de León obtains authorization to bring his family from Spain to his home in the Casa de Contratación in Caparra, Puerto Rico.

title: 1509

text: Juan de Agramonte, a sailor from Spain, is thought possibly to have travelled to Newfoundland.

title: 1511

date: April 11

text: April 11 – War of the League of Cambrai – Battle of Ravenna: French troops under Gaston of Foix, Duke of Nemours, assisted by the Duchy of Ferrara, defeat the Spanish and Papal States troops led by Ramón de Cardona. Gaston is killed in the pursuit as the Spanish retreat, and at least 3,000 of his troops are killed. More than 9,000 Spanish and Papal troops are killed, and 17,000 civilians in and around the city of Ravenna are massacred.

title: 1512

date: December

text: December – Louis attempts to make peace with Spain by offering King Ferdinand the hand of his daughter Renée for one of his grandsons along with renouncing his claims on Naples. The proposal is never accepted.

title: 1513

date: October 7

text: October 7 – Battle of La Motta (War of the League of Cambrai): Spanish and imperial troops under Ramón de Cardona decisively defeat those of the Republic of Venice under Bartolomeo d'Alviano in Schio.

title: 1513

date: July 7

text: July 7 – Otumba near Lake Texcaco: The Spaniards defeat the Aztecs.

title: 1520

section: Events › July–September

date: August 13

text: August 13 – Fall of Tenochtitlan: Cuauhtémoc surrenders to Cortés, thus incorporating the Aztec Empire into the Spanish Empire and ending the Late Postclassic period in Mesoamerica.

title: 1521

date: June 30

text: June 30 – Battle of Esquiroz: French forces under André de Foix, fighting for the exiled King of Navarre Henri d'Albret, are defeated by the Spanish, and forced to abandon their attempt to recover Henri's kingdom.

title: 1521

date: November 23

text: November 23 – Spanish–German–Papal forces under Prospero Colonna force French Marshal Odet de Lautrec to abandon Milan.

title: 1521

date: April 27

text: April 27 – In the Battle of Bicocca, French and Swiss forces under Odet de Lautrec are defeated by the Spanish in their attempt to retake Milan, and are forced to withdraw into Venetian territory.

title: 1522

date: April 30

text: April 30 – Battle of the Sesia: Spanish forces under Charles de Lannoy defeat the French army in Italy, under William de Bonnivet. The French, now commanded by François de St. Pol, withdraw from the Italian Peninsula.

title: 1524

date: March 7

text: March 7 – Spanish conquistador Pedro de Alvarado destroys the Kʼicheʼ kingdom of Qʼumarkaj, taking the capital, Quiché.

title: 1524

date: February 24

text: February 24 – Battle of Pavia: German and Spanish forces under Charles de Lannoy and the Marquis of Pescara defeat the French army, and capture Francis I of France, after his horse is wounded by Cesare Hercolani. While Francis is imprisoned in Lombardy and then transferred to Madrid, the first attempts to form a Franco-Ottoman alliance with Suleiman the Magnificent against the Habsburg Empire are made.

title: 1525

date: July 24

text: July 24 – Milan is captured by the Spanish.

title: 1526

date: July 25

text: July 25 – The Spanish ship Santiago, from García Jofre de Loaísa's expedition, reaches the Pacific Coast of Mexico and drops anchor at the Gulf of Tehuantepec, becoming the first ship to sail from Europe to the west coast of North America.

title: 1526

date: May 6

text: May 6 – Sack of Rome: Spanish and German troops led by the Duke of Bourbon sack Rome, forcing the Medici Pope Clement VII to make peace with Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, marking the end of the High Renaissance. The Pope grows a beard in mourning.

title: 1527

text: Spain takes direct control of Acapulco.

title: 1528

date: April 22

text: April 22 – The Treaty of Zaragoza divides the eastern hemisphere between the Spanish and Portuguese empires, stipulating that the dividing line should lie 297.5 leagues or 17° east of the Moluccas.

title: 1529

text: Battle of Reynogüelén: Spanish conquistadors defeat a group of Mapuches in Chile, during the expedition of Diego de Almagro.

title: 1536

date: May 8

text: May 8 – Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto reaches the Mississippi River, naming it the Rio de Espiritu Santo ("River of the Holy Spirit").

title: 1541

date: February 14

text: February 14 – Guadalajara, Mexico, is founded by the Spaniards after three previous attempts failed, due to aggressive opposition from local tribes.

title: 1542

text: Indians in the Spanish Empire are declared free, against the wishes of local settlers.

title: 1543

date: April 1

text: April 1 – Potosí is founded by the Spanish as a mining town after the discovery of huge silver deposits in this area of modern-day Bolivia. Silver mined from Huayna Potosí Mountain provides most of the wealth on which the Spanish Empire is based until its fall in the early 19th century.

title: 1545

date: March 12

text: March 12 – Arauco War: Battle of Penco – Several hundred Spanish and indigenous troops under the command of Pedro de Valdivia defeat an army of 60,000 Mapuche in modern-day Chile.

title: 1550

text: The kings of Spain take control of what becomes the Flanders region, including the French département of Nord.

title: 1556

date: February 5

text: February 5 – Truce of Vaucelles: Fighting temporarily ends between France and Spain.

title: 1556

date: January 16

text: January 16 – Charles V abdicates the thrones of the Spanish Empire (including his colonies in the New World) in favor of his son, Philip II, and retires to a monastery.

title: 1556

section: Economy & Finance

text: Spain becomes bankrupt, throwing the German banking houses into chaos.

title: 1557

date: April 12

text: April 12 – The Spanish settlement of Cuenca, Ecuador, is founded.

title: 1557

text: April 30 – Arauco War – Battle of Mataquito: Spanish forces of Governor Francisco de Villagra launch a dawn surprise attack against the Mapuche (headed by their toqui Lautaro), in present-day Chile.

title: 1557

text: February 5 – Arauco War: Pedro de Avendaño, with sixty men, captures Caupolicán (the Mapuche Gran Toqui), who is leading their first revolt against the Spanish Empire (near Antihuala), encamped with a small band of followers.

title: 1558

text: July 13 – Battle of Gravelines: Near the border between the Kingdom of France and the Spanish Netherlands, Spanish forces led by Lamoral, Count of Egmont, and assisted by the English Navy, inflict a major defeat on the French forces of Marshal Paul de Thermes.

title: 1558

text: August 15 – Led by Don Tristán de Luna y Arellano, a Spanish missionary colony of 1,500 men, on 13 ships, arrives from Vera Cruz at Pensacola Bay, founding the oldest European settlement in the mainland U.S. (St. Augustine is founded in 1565.)

title: 1559

text: May 8 – Madrid is declared the capital of Spain, by Philip II.

title: 1561

text: May 25 – The Holy League is established as an alliance of the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, the Republic of Genoa, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Duchy of Savoy, the Duchy of Urbino, the Kingdom of Naples and Kingdom of Sicily under the rule of the Spanish Empire and the Knights of Malta for mutual defense against attacks by the Ottoman Empire on ships in the Mediterranean Sea.

title: 1571

text: The first Spanish galleon, laden with silver for the porcelain and silk trade with the Ming Dynasty of China, lands at Manila in the Philippines. This occasion marks the beginning of the Spanish silver trade to China, that will trump that of the Portuguese, the latter of whom acted as an intermediary between the silver mines of Japan, and the luxury items in China to be purchased with that silver. Most of the silver entering China comes from what is now Mexico, Bolivia, and Peru in the New World.

title: 1573

text: July 27 – Capture of Breda: After a surprise attack the day before, Spanish troops under the command of Claude de Berlaymont, Lord of Haultepenne, take the walled city Breda in the Netherlands. Once inside the gates, the Spanish troops overcome the defenders and carry out the massacre of 584 citizens in the "Haultepenne Fury".

title: 1581

text: 12 million pesos of silver cross the Pacific. Although it is unknown just how much silver flowed from the Spanish base of Manila in the Philippines to the Ming Dynasty of China, it is known that the main port for the Mexican silver trade—Acapulco—shipped out 150,000 to 345,000 kg (4 to 9 million taels) of silver annually from this year to 1602.

title: 1597

text: December 21 – Battle of Curalaba: The revolting Mapuche, led by cacique Pelantaro, inflict a major defeat on Spanish troops in southern Chile; all Spanish cities south of the Bío Bío River eventually fall victim to the Destruction of the Seven Cities by the Mapuches, and all conquest of Mapuche territories by Europeans practically ceases, until the later 19th century Occupation of Araucanía.

title: 1598

text: July 2 – Eighty Years' War (Dutch War of Independence) – Battle of Nieuwpoort: The Dutch Republic gains a tactical victory over the Spanish Empire.

title: 1600

text: The Safavid Empire of Persia and the Spanish Empire conclude a defensive alliance and declare war on the Ottoman Empire.

title: 1602

text: September 20 – After a bloody three-year siege. Ostend is finally captured by Spanish forces under Ambrogio Spinola

title: 1604

text: October 28 – Eighty Years' War: Spanish troops under Ambrogio Spinola, 1st Marquess of Los Balbases, Captain-General of the Army of Flanders (newly appointed a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece), occupy Wachtendonk after a 20-day siege.

title: 1605

text: April 25 – Battle of Gibraltar: A Dutch fleet of 26 warships, led by Admiral Jacob van Heemskerck, stages a surprise attack on a Spanish fleet anchored in the Bay of Gibraltar. In the battle that ensues, Spain loses as many as 10 galleons and 12 smaller ships, and at least 300 men are killed. The disaster causes Spain to go into bankruptcy by October.

title: 1607

text: September 14 – Flight of the Earls: Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone, and Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, flee Ireland for Spain with 90 followers, to avoid capture by the English crown, never to return.

title: 1607

text: April 9 – The Netherlands and Spain agree to the Twelve Years' Truce (which lasts until 1621) in the Eighty Years' War, with the signing of the Treaty of Antwerp, allowing the Dutch East India Company to trade within the Spanish Empire.

title: 1609

text: May 25 – A Sicilian–Spanish galley fleet defeats the Tunisians at La Goulette after a battle.

title: 1612

text: June 21 – The Peace of Asti is concluded between the Spanish Empire and Savoy.

title: 1615

text: Tamblot rallies an unknown, large number of people in Bohol, Captaincy General of the Philippines to revolt against the Spanish Empire.

title: 1621

text: April 9 – The Twelve Years' Truce between the Dutch Republic and the Spanish Empire expires, and both sides prepare to resume the Eighty Years' War.

title: 1621

text: October 17 – Thirty Years' War: Siege of Rheinfelden – Spain recaptures Rheinfelden from Sweden.

title: 1633

text: June 27 – The first English venture to China is attempted by Captain John Weddell, who sails into port in Macau and Canton during the late Ming dynasty with six ships. The voyages are for trade, which is dominated here by the Portuguese (at this time combined with the power of Spain). He brings 38,421 pairs of eyeglasses, perhaps the first recorded European-made eyeglasses to enter China.

title: 1637

text: January 30 – The Dutch and the Spanish sign the Peace of Münster, ending the Eighty Years' War. The Spanish Empire recognizes the Dutch Republic of United Netherlands as a sovereign state (governed by the House of Orange-Nassau and the States General), which was previously a province of the Spanish Empire. The treaty is ratified by the Netherlands on May 15.

title: 1648

text: Mission San Xavier del Bac is founded in New Spain near Tucson, as a Spanish Roman Catholic mission. Its location had first been scouted by the Spanish in 1692.

title: 1700

text: June 27 – The Spanish Empire's Council of the Indies votes, 6 to 4, to re-establish the Viceroyalty of New Granada, incorporating modern-day Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Panama. King Philip V issues the order on August 20, 1738.

title: 1738

text: May 9 – War of Jenkins' Ear: Battle of Cartagena de Indias – Spain's defenders in New Grenada, under the command of General Blas de Lezo, defeat Edward Vernon's Royal Navy force, leading to a British retreat to Jamaica.

title: 1741

text: 1751–1775 – 13 per cent of appointees to audiencias in the Spanish Empire are Creoles.

title: 1751

text: April 2 – Suppression of the Jesuits begins, in the Spanish Empire and Kingdom of Naples.

title: 1767

text: February 27 – King Carlos III of Spain issues a decree expelling the Jesuits from the dominions of the Spanish Empire worldwide.

title: 1767

text: May 16 – Ahmed al-Ghazzal, the emissary from Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah of Morocco to the Spanish Empire, makes a triumphant return to Marrakesh with almost 300 Muslims who had been held captive in Spain, as well as sacred Islamic manuscripts that had been seized by the Spanish in 1612. The negotiation of the release had started with al-Ghazzal's meeting with Spain's King Carlos III on August 21, 1766.

title: 1767

text: June 9 – Falklands Crisis (1770): Some 1,600 Spanish marines, sent by the Spanish governor of Buenos Aires in five frigates, seize Port Egmont in the Falkland Islands. The small British force present promptly surrenders.

title: 1770

text: April 17 – American Revolutionary War: Colbert's Raid: A Spanish garrison under Captain Jacobo du Breuil defeats British irregulars at Arkansas Post.

title: 1783

text: September 25 – The mine of Huancavelica in the Peruvian Andes collapses killing more than a hundred people. The event is a major setback for quicksilver production in the Spanish Empire.

title: 1786

text: February 3 – Napoleonic Wars and Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Montevideo – The British Army captures Montevideo from the Spanish Empire, as part of the British invasions of the Río de la Plata.

title: 1807

text: August 6 – The city of Santa Cruz de Mompox, in modern-day Colombia, declares independence from the Spanish Empire.

title: 1810

text: July 20 – First Republic of New Granada: Patria Boba: A junta of seven patriots, led by José Acevedo y Gómez, assemble in Bogotá in the Viceroyalty of New Granada (modern-day Colombia), to declare its independence from the Spanish Empire, the first South American nation to break away from Spain as the third oldest independent republic state after Haiti.

title: 1810

text: May 14 – Paraguay declares independence from the Spanish Empire (recognised May 15).

title: 1811

text: July 28 – Argentine general José de San Martín declares the independence of Peru from the Spanish Empire.

title: 1821

text: April 22 – Spain, France, Portugal and the United Kingdom sign the Quadruple Alliance.

title: 1834


slug: spanish-inquisition

label: Spanish Inquisition

description: ecclesiastical court system under the control of the kings of Spain (1478-1834)

date: November 1

text: November 1 – The Spanish Inquisition begins as Pope Sixtus IV promulgates the papal bull Exigit sinceras devotionis affectus, permitting the Crown of Castile, at the request of Queen Isabella, to create the office of Inquisitor General, with the Dominican bishop Tomás de Torquemada to prosecute accused heretics.

title: 1478

date: September 27

text: September 27 – The co-rulers of most of Spain, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile initiate the Spanish Inquisition to look for heretics and unconverted Jews, appointing the Dominican Order clerics Miguel de Morillo and Juan de San Martín to serve as the first two inquisitors.

title: 1480

section: Crime & Justice

date: February 6

text: February 6 – The first execution during the Spanish Inquisition is carried out in Seville in an auto-da-fé as six people convicted of heresy are burned alive. As a result of this and other murders, thousands of conversos— mostly Jewish people who had converted to Christianity— flee their homes.

title: 1481

date: January

text: January – Upon the petition the Grand Inquistitor of Castile (now part of Spain) Tomás de Torquemada, the Jews are expelled from the Castilian-controlled portions of Andalusia.

title: 1483

date: April 23

text: April 23 – Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, brings the Spanish Inquisition to the Netherlands with the appointment of Frans Van der Hulst as the inquisitor general of the Seventeen Provinces, which will later become parts of the Belgium, France, Luxembourg and the southern Netherlands.

title: 1523

date: January 12

text: January 12 – The Basque witch trials are started in Spain as the court of the Inquisition at Logroño receives a letter from the commissioner of the village of Zugarramurdi, and orders the arrest of four women, including María de Jureteguía and María Chipía de Barrenetxea.

title: 1609

date: November 8

text: November 8 – The Basque witch trials come to an end after almost two years. Out of about 7,000 persons accused of witchcraft, only six are condemned to be executed by the Spanish Inquisition as two men (Domingo de Subildegui and Petri de Joangorena) and four women (María de Echachute, Graciana Xarra, Maria Baztan de Borda, and Maria de Arburu) are burned at the stake at Logroño.

title: 1610

date: March 4

text: March 4 – Belgian scientist Jan Baptist van Helmont is interrogated by the Spanish Inquisition and put under house arrest for his experiments into plant growth.

title: 1634

date: June 30

text: June 30 – During the Spanish Inquisition, an auto-da-fé takes place in the Plaza Mayor, Madrid.

title: 1680

text: May 6 – The Spanish Inquisition condemns and forcibly baptizes 219 Xuetas in Palma, Majorca. When 37 try to escape the island, they are burned alive at the stake.

title: 1691

date: July 26

text: July 26 – Cayetano Ripoll becomes the last person to be executed by the Spanish Inquisition's successor at its last auto-da-fé, held in Valencia.

title: 1826

section: Conflict & Security

date: July 15

text: July 15 – The Spanish Inquisition, which began in the 15th century, is suppressed by royal decree.

title: 1834


slug: spanish-netherlands

label: Spanish Netherlands

description: parts of the Netherlands held by the Spanish crown (1581-1714)

date: August 17

text: August 17 – The revolt of Ghent begins in the Spanish Netherlands (now Belgium) as members of the city's guilds demand the right to choose their own leaders, and the resignation of the Spanish-sponsored city leaders. Within four days, the city is under the control of nine guild leaders.

title: 1539

date: January 6

text: January 6 – Italian War of 1551–1559: Gaspard II de Coligny, the French governor of Picardy (in northern France), launches surprise attacks on Douai and Lens in the Spanish Netherlands and captures both cities for France.

title: 1557

date: July 13

text: July 13 – Battle of Gravelines: Near the border between the Kingdom of France and the Spanish Netherlands, Spanish forces led by Lamoral, Count of Egmont, and assisted by the English Navy, inflict a major defeat on the French forces of Marshal Paul de Thermes.

title: 1558

date: July 31

text: July 31 – King Philip II of Spain sends a final letter to the administrators and Catholic bishops of the Spanish Netherlands, rejecting a request to abolish ordinances treating Protestants as heretics. The decision leads to an uprising against Spain by Calvinists and ultimately to the Eighty Years War.

title: 1566

date: February 16

text: February 16 – Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba, governor of the Spanish Netherlands issues an edict condemning to death those who rebel against Spanish authority to combat religious unrest.

title: 1568

date: October 20

text: October 20 – Eighty Years' War – Relief of Goes: Soldiers of the Spanish Tercios wade across the estuary of the Scheldt, to relieve the siege of Goes in the Spanish Netherlands.

title: 1572

date: February 12

text: February 12 – The "Perpetual Edict", providing for the removal of Spanish troops from what is now the Netherlands, is signed in the city of Marche-en-Famenne in the Spanish Netherlands (now Belgium) by the Spanish Governor-General, Don Juan de Austria and representatives of the Dutch rebellion. The Perpetual Edict will last only five months, before Don Juan begins new attacks on the rebels.

title: 1577

text: January 6 – The Union of Arras unites the southern Netherlands under the Duke of Parma, governor in the name of king Philip II of Spain.

title: 1579

text: April 23 – After a siege of 75 days, Dutch Republic commander Hendrik van Bonnivet surrenders Eindhoven to the Spanish Netherlands.

title: 1583

date: September 17

text: September 17 – In what is now Belgium, the Calvinist Republic of Ghent comes to an end after seven years when its capital, Ghent, falls following a siege of 13 months. Jan van Hembyze, leader of the republic since October 1583, surrenders the city to Alexander Farnese, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands.

title: 1584

date: August 8

text: August 8 (July 29 Old Style) – Battle of Gravelines: The Spanish Armada is defeated by the English naval force off the coast of Gravelines, in the Spanish Netherlands (modern France).

title: 1588

date: January 17

text: January 17 – During the French Wars of Religion, King Henry IV of France declares war on Spain, ordering Henry, Duke of Bouillon to lead armies through Luxembourg for an attack on the Spanish Netherlands (now Belgium).

title: 1595

text: The Priory of St. Gregory's is founded at Douai, Flanders, at this time in the Spanish Netherlands, by its first prior, John Roberts, and other exiles, thus becoming the first English Benedictine house to renew conventual life after the English Reformation. More than two centuries later the community will establish Downside Abbey back in England.

title: 1605

date: February 7

text: February 7 – A peace conference opens at the Binnenhof at The Hague, in the Netherlands, to end a war between the Dutch Republic and the Spanish Netherlands (now Belgium).

title: 1608

text: English-born Sister Mary Ward founds the Sisters of Loreto at Saint-Omer, at this time in the Spanish Netherlands.

title: 1609

date: August 19

text: August 19 – Eighty Years' War: The Spanish garrison of Wesel is surprised by a small Dutch army, and the city is taken by the Dutch Republic. As Wesel functioned as the principal supply base of Hendrik van den Bergh's army, the loss of supply forces him to retreat to the Spanish Netherlands, leaving him unable to intervene in the ongoing siege of 's-Hertogenbosch.

title: 1629

date: August 25

text: August 25 – Eighty Years' War: A force of 17,000 Spanish troops, led by the Spanish Netherlands Governor-General, Don Fernando de Austria, recaptures the city of Venlo from the Dutch Republic after a five-day siege.

title: 1637

date: October 10

text: October 10 – France takes Dunkirk from the Spanish Netherlands for the first time.

title: 1646

date: August 10

text: August 10 – The Siege of Lille, at this time part of the Spanish Netherlands (modern-day Belgium) begins and becomes the only major engagement of the "War of Devolution" between France and Spain. The Spanish Army surrenders after 16 days.

title: 1667

date: May 24

text: May 24 – After King Philip IV of Spain reneges on payment of a large dowry to King Louis XIV of France, promised to Louis as a gift for Louis' marriage to Philip's daughter Princess Maria Theresa, the War of Devolution begins between France and Spain. The French Army invades the Spanish Netherlands (modern-day Belgium), entering Flanders and Franche-Comté. By the time the war ends on May 2, 1668, parts of the Spanish Netherlands are ceded to France.

title: 1667

date: February 28

text: February 28 – During the Franco-Dutch War, the Siege of Valenciennes by the French Army begins in the Spanish Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). The city surrenders on March 17.

title: 1677

date: March 17

text: March 17 – Franco-Dutch War: Siege of Valenciennes (1676–77) in the Spanish Netherlands ends with surrender of the town to the French.

title: 1677

date: March 25

text: March 25 – The Spanish Netherlands city of Ypres falls after a seven-day siege by the French Army. It is later returned to the Netherlands and eventually becomes part of Belgium.

title: 1678

date: June 7

text: June 7 – After a siege of six weeks that began on April 27, Luxembourg City is taken by the French Army from control by Spain, and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, previously part of the Spanish Netherlands (now Belgium) is acquired by France.

title: 1684

date: July 12

text: July 12 – The Siege of Namur begins in the Spanish Netherlands (now Belgium).

title: 1695

date: September 1

text: September 1 – Nine Years' War: France surrenders Namur, Spanish Netherlands to forces of the Grand Alliance, led by King William III of England, Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, following the 2-month Siege of Namur.

title: 1695

date: July 11

text: July 11 – War of the Spanish Succession: Battle of Oudenarde – Allied forces under the command of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, defeat the French in the Spanish Netherlands.

title: 1708

section: Events › July–December

date: March 7

text: March 7 – The Treaty of Rastatt is signed between Austria and France, concluding the War of the Spanish Succession between them. Austria receives the Spanish territories in Italy (the Kingdom of Naples, Duchy of Milan and Kingdom of Sardinia), as well as the Southern Netherlands; and from France, Freiburg and Landau. The Austrian Habsburg Empire reaches its largest territorial extent yet, with Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor succeeding Philip V of Spain, as ruler in the ceded territories.

title: 1714