Spanish Empire

Spain was the center of one of the first Global Empires. During the 16th century and the next one, Spain established itself as a superpower with globe-spanning reach. Castille, along with Portugal, was in the vanguard of European global exploration and colonial expansion and the opening of trade routes across the oceans, with trade across the Atlantic between Spain and the Americas and across the Pacific between

The last territories in Africa (1898-1975)

In 1481 the papal Bull Aeterni regis had granted all land south of the Canary Islands to Portugal. Only these archipelago and the cities of Sidi Ifni (1476-1524), known then as "Santa Cruz de Mar Pequeña", Melilla (conquered by Pedro de Estopiñán in 1497), Villa Cisneros (founded in 1502 in actual Western Sahara), Mazalquivir (1505), Velez (1508), Oran (1509-1790), Argel (1510-1529), Bugia (1510-1554), Tripoli (1511-1551), Tunez (1535-1569) and Ceuta (ceded by Portugal in 1668) remained as Spanish territory in Africa.

Related Topics:
1481 - Bull - Aeterni regis - Canary Islands - Sidi Ifni - 1476 - 1524 - Santa Cruz de Mar Pequeña - Pedro de Estopiñán - 1497 - Villa Cisneros - 1502 - Western Sahara - Mazalquivir - 1505 - Velez - 1508 - Oran - 1509 - 1790 - Argel - 1510 - 1529 - Bugia - 1554 - Tripoli - 1511 - 1551 - Tunez - 1535 - 1569 - 1668

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In 1778, the Bioko Island, adjacent islets, and commercial rights to the mainland between the Niger and Ogoue Rivers were ceded to Spain by the Portuguese in exchange for territory in South America (Treaty of El Pardo). In the XIX century, some Spanish explorers and missionaries would crossed this zone, as Manuel de Iradier.

Related Topics:
1778 - Bioko - Niger - Ogoue - Treaty of El Pardo - Manuel de Iradier

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In 1848, Spanish troops conquered the Islas Chafarinas.

Related Topics:
1848 - Islas Chafarinas

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In 1860, after the Tetuan War, Morocco ceded Sidi Ifni to Spain as a part of the Treaty of Tangiers. The following decades of Franco-Spanish collaboration resulted in the establishment and extension of Spanish protectorates south of the city, and Spanish influence obtained international recognition in the Berlin Conference of 1884: Spain administered Sidi Ifni and Western Sahara jointly. Spain claimed a protectorate over the coast of Guinea from Cape Bojador to Cap Blanc, too. Río Muni became a protectorate in 1885 and a colony in 1900. Conflicting claims to the Guinea mainland were settled in 1900 by the Treaty of Paris.

Related Topics:
1860 - Tetuan War - Morocco - Treaty of Tangiers - Berlin Conference - 1884 - Western Sahara - Cape Bojador - Cap Blanc - Río Muni - 1885 - 1900 - Treaty of Paris

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In 1911, Morocco was divided between the French and Spanish. The Disaster of Annual (1921) was a grave military defeat suffered by the Spanish army. Between 1926 and 1959, Bioko and Rio Muni were united as the colony of Spanish Guinea.

Related Topics:
1911 - Morocco - Disaster of Annual - 1921 - Spanish - 1926 - Spanish Guinea

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Spain lacked the wealth and the interest to develop an extensive economic infrastructure in his african colonies during the first half of the twentieth century. However, through a paternalistic system, particularly on Bioko Island, Spain developed large cacao plantations for which thousands of Nigerian workers were imported as laborers. The Spanish also helped Equatorial Guinea achieve one of the continent's highest literacy rates and developed a good network of health care facilities.

Related Topics:
Cacao - Nigerian

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In 1956, when French Morocco became independent, Spain surrendered his Spanish Morocco to the newly independent Morocco, but retained control of Sidi Ifni, Tarfaya region and Western Sahara. Moroccan Sultan (then King) Mohammed V was interesting in these Northern African Spanish territories and there was a Invasion of Spanish Sahara by Moroccan army, also known as the Ifni War and, in Spain, the Forgotten War (la Guerra Ignorada). In 1958, Spain ceded Tarfaya to Mohammed V and joined the previously separate districts of Saguia el-Hamra (in the north) and Río de Oro (in the south) to form the province of Spanish Sahara.

Related Topics:
1956 - French Morocco - Spanish Morocco - Tarfaya - Sultan - King - Mohammed V - Invasion of Spanish Sahara - 1958 - Saguia el-Hamra - Río de Oro - Spanish Sahara

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In 1959, the Spanish territory of the Gulf of Guinea was established with status similar to the provinces of metropolitan Spain. As the Spanish Equatorial Region, it was ruled by a governor general exercising military and civilian powers. The first local elections were held in 1959, and the first Equatoguinean representatives were seated in the Spanish parliament. Under the Basic Law of December 1963, limited autonomy was authorized under a joint legislative body for the territory's two provinces. The name of the country was changed to Equatorial Guinea.

Related Topics:
1959 - Equatorial Guinea

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In March 1968, under pressure from Equatoguinean nationalists and the United Nations, Spain announced that it would grant independence to Equatorial Guinea. At independence in 1968, Equatorial Guinea had one of the highest per capita incomes in Africa. In 1969, under international pressure, Spain returned Sidi Ifni to Morocco. Spanish control of Western Sahara endured until the 1975 Green March prompted a withdrawal. The future of this former Spanish colony remains uncertain.

Related Topics:
1968 - United Nations - Equatorial Guinea - 1969 - Western Sahara - 1975 - Green March

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Morocco still claims Canary Islands, Ceuta, Melilla and Plazas de Soberanía to be part of Morocco. Isla Perejil (Arabic: Leila ("night")) was occupied on July 11, 2002 by Moroccan police and troops, who were evicted without bloodshed by Spanish naval forces.

Related Topics:
Plazas de Soberanía - Isla Perejil - Arabic - July 11 - 2002 - Police - Naval

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