Spain (No Manifest Destiny)

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Spanish Republic República Española Timeline: No Manifest Destiny OTL equivalent: Spain, Western Sahara, Florida, Cuba, and the Philippines
Flag Coat of arms
Motto:  Plus ultra (Latin) (English: "Further Beyond")
Anthem:  Himno de Riego Anthem of Riego
Spain (green)
Capital		Madrid
Official languages		Spanish
Demonym		Spanish
Government		Federal semi-presidential republic
-	President	Oriol Junqueras
-	Prime Minister	Pedro Sánchez
Legislature		Congress
-	Upper house	Senate
-	Lower house	Chamber of Deputies
Formation
-	de-facto	20 January 1479
-	de-jure	9 June 1715
-	Republic proclaimed	11 February 1873
-	Constitution adopted	19 July 1874
Population
-	2022 estimate	190,873,685
Currency		Spanish peseta (ESP)
Drives on the		Right

Spain (Spanish: España), officially the Spanish Republic (Spanish: República Española), is a transcontinental country spanning Western Europe, Western Africa and overseas regions and territories in the Americas, the Atlantic and Mediterranean seas. In Europe, Spain borders France, Andorra, Portugal, and the British overseas territory of Gibraltar; in Africa, it borders Morocco, France, and Kamerun; in the Americas, it borders the United States, the Bahamas, Louisiana, and Jamaica; and in Asia, it borders China, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia. With a population of around 190.9 million, it is the sixth most populous country in the world, and is the fourteenth biggest country in the world with an area of around 1.5 million km².

Historically, Spain has been relevant through the centuries. Being settled by humans around 40,000 years ago, it was one of the main centres of the Roman Republic and Empire during its glory days. After the division of the Roman Empire in 395 AD, the Western Roman Empire kept its control of Iberia until it collapsed. It remained under Christian rule until the Muslims came and took over the peninsula, ruling through several different kingdoms. Eventually, after the Reconquista, Christians took back the peninsula. For several centuries, modern-day Spain was divided among different kingdoms, the most important ones being the Kingdom of Castile and Aragon ruled by the Habsburgs. Spain then 'accidentally' discovered the Americas in 1492, and became the first country to colonise it.

In the early 18th century, after a fourteen-year war with Austria, Spain broke away from the Habsburgs and installed the Bourbon monarch, effectively unifying the country and officialising the Kingdom of Spain. Spain would become more close with France, becoming allies in the Seven Years' War and losing, although the two countries still remained good allies. After the Napoleonic Wars, however, Spain became drastically weaker, leading to instability and eventually lead to the removal of the monarch in 1873 and the establishment of the modern-day republic. For the first few months it was unstable, but under the presidency of reformist Emilio Castelar, it gradually improved.

Spain is a semi-presidential republic, with a president and prime minister sharing power in government. It is a developed country with the world's fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. It has one of the world's most efficient healthcare systems, and is a world leader in organ development. Spain is a member of the Organisation of Nations, as well as a founding member of the Organization of Ibero-American States. Spain's culture is also very relevant in history, as South America is based on Spanish culture in terms of language, art and music.

Etymology

The origins of the Roman name Hispania, and the modern España, are uncertain, although the Phoenicians and Carthaginians referred to the region as Spania, therefore the most widely accepted etymology is a Levant-Phoenician one.

History

Early years of republic (1873-1900)

After the Napoleonic Wars ended in 1814, Spain emerged very poorly, with its economy in shambles. It also didn't help Spain that it was losing its control over New Spain, and was forced to give independence to Mexico in 1821 after years of war between the two entities. Spain continued declining economically, as politics within the country began to collapse, constantly switching between a constitutional monarchy to an absolute monarchy and vice-versa. After the horrendous reign of Isabella II between 1833 and 1868, a revolution broke out within the country which forced her to abdicate and a provisional government was in place for less than two years before a member of the Italian Savoy dynasty, Amadeo I, was invited to become the new king of Spain. However, he proved inefficient and unworthy of ruling, so in 1873, he abdicated, as revolutionaries established the modern day republic.

Although Spain was no longer a monarch, the first few months of the republic were filled with instability, as nobody had any real idea how to run the country after the monarch. There were many unpopular decisions made by the presidents, such as the mandatory conscription for the regular army. On 16 June, a twenty-five member committee was established by the provisional legislature to determine the constitution. Due to slow decision making, tensions arose in the government. Many royalists in the country wanted a restoration of the monarchy, while socialists in the City Council of Seville passed a motion declaring the town a Social Republic. After Emilio Castelar came to office in September, he set to work improving conditions in the country.

Portrait of Emilio Castelar, who served as President from 1873 to 1879.

Initially, after several months, Castelar managed to implement some new social and economic reforms in 1874 to stabilise the country, making way for the final drafting of the new constitution later that year, which introduced an American-inspired system with presidential elections and rights for all people. It also established a proper legislature, establishing the Congress of Spain with two political houses - the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. This new change was warmly welcomed by the people of Spain, as they saw it as a new beginning for the country. The biggest change implemented by the constitution was federalisation - Castelar wanted to reform Spain into a federal state, integrating all of Spain's colonies into states of Spain itself - people in former colonies such as Cuba, Florida and the Philippines were officially given Spanish citizenship. Castelar was formally elected president in the 1874 election, becoming the first elected president of Spain.

After Castelar resigned due to health issues, the Senate president Antonio Cánovas del Castillo took over, continuing to implement new reforms like his predecessor had. Under Castillo, Spain underwent a period of economic prosperity in the 1880s and 1890s, referred to by historians as Renacimiento económico (English: Economic Renaissance), which is was as less people were in poverty, and more job opportunities came up. Castillo won the next three elections in 1879 and 1884, and guided Spain through a golden age. By the time he left office in 1895, he was favoured by the majority of the Spanish people, and is nowadays regarded as one of the best presidents in Spanish history.

20th century (1900-1951)

When the 20th century rolled around, Spain was still experiencing an economic boom. However, it wasn't as big as it had been in the previous decade due to the Spanish government being worried about having trading deals cut with one of the European powers. Spain was also becoming politically divided, as tensions in Europe were boiling up between France and Germany. Socialist-leaning parties such as the Socialist Party of Spain favoured neutrality, although the more conservative and nationalist parties argued for an alliance with either France or Germany.

When the Great War broke out in July 1914, Spain under President Eduardo Dato opted for neutrality, continuing trade with both sides. However, after the initial collapse of the French economy in September 1918 and Britain's focus to rebuild after the end of the war in April 1919, Spain's economy began to decline. As a result, Dato was pressured to resign in March 1920, with José Sánchez-Guerra y Martínez taking over as acting president until the election in 1924.