Beginning of the Spanish Civil War
On 17 July 1936 colonial troops rose against the republican government in Madrid. The Spanish Civil War had started.
Spain
‘Infanta’ by Magdalena S. Sánchez review
In Infanta: The Short, Remarkable Life of Catalina Micaela, Magdalena S. Sánchez discovers a 16th-century marriage documented in remarkable detail.
The Rif War
As Spain and France moved into Morocco, the people of the Rif Mountains united to form a new state. For five years they fought one of the most successful wars of resistance in imperial history.
The Last Emirate of Spain
The emirate of Granada – Islam’s last polity in Spain – was surrendered to the Catholic monarchs on 2 January 1492.
The Death of Charles the Bad
On 1 January 1387 Charles II, the medieval king of Navarre, died as he had lived – with great violence.
‘El Generalísimo’ by Giles Tremlett book review
El Generalísimo: Franco: Power, Violence and the Quest for Greatness by Giles Tremlett considers the making of the mediocrity at the heart of modern Spain.
Spain Was Different: Tourism Under Franco
How did Spain, Western Europe’s last dictatorship, become one of its most popular tourist destinations?
Pelayo: the Reluctant Visigoth and the Reconquista
Pelayo, King of Asturias, is Spain’s first national hero, credited with beginning the Reconquista with his victory at the Battle of Covadonga. What do we really know about him?
The Ballad of the Inquisition’s Greatest Witch Trial
How a lost ballad detailing the Inquisition’s sentencing of 28 alleged Basque witches spread a witchcraft panic through 17th-century Spain.
‘Spice’ by Roger Crowley review
In Spice: The 16th-Century Contest that Shaped the Modern World, Roger Crowley explains how Spain and Portugal turned up the heat in the age of imperialism.