Ok. So the Romans came into Spain in around 200 BC or so, with the natives being groups like the Celts, Lusitanians, some Aquitanians, Iberians, Tartessians. Rome calls the place Hispania and the place took on some Roman culture. Then Rome did its thing and split apart into east and west in 395. Then Western Rome did its thing and collapsed as well, leading to Gothic invasions. The Visigoths would then push out other groups like the Alans, Vandals, and Suebi. The Visigoths then ruled until the beginning of the 8th century. I think you know what time it is.

Knock knock, it's Islam. The Umayyads would come into Spain and it would be called Al-Andalus. They gave a good crack at trying to get France, but they were beaten at Tours by Charles Martel. But the Ummayads would really do a number on Spain, leaving only a thin slice of Christians in northern Spain by 722, the Kingdom of Asturias. A rebellion in Galicia (the part of Spain on top of Portugal) would be supported by the Asturians, increasing Christian expansion. Don't think the Muslims, or the Caliphate of Cordoba as they would be called of 929, were exceedingly awful to their subjects. There is some thought that they were very tolerant of Christians and Jews in their territory. Al Mansur, a Muslim ruler, would push back the fledgling Christian states of northern Iberia and sack Barcelona, but when his son died the realm would collapse into several indepedent Muslim realms around 1031. The Christians would push, the Muslims would push back, you see how this goes. The Almoravids pushed against the Christians, collapsed, Almohads pick up the pieces, who then get coalitioned to death by the Christians. By 1250 cities like Cordoba and Seville were taken by Christian forces, and the only Muslim state left on Spain by that point was the Emirate of Granada, which would survive until 1492 (important year for Spain) although it paid tribute to Castille. Who is Castille, you reasonably ask? Well it's time for me to talk about the Christians in more detail.

The Christians were not unified in much other than religion, and they feuded between each other at times. The big ones to know are Leon, Navarra, Aragon, and Castille, with a special focus on the last two. Take a look at the coat of arms on Spain's flag, image here: Link. You see the coat of arms? The lion of Leon, the castle of Castille, and less intuitively the chains being for Navarra and the yellow and red stripes being Aragon. The big names are Castille and Aragon, as by the 15th century they were the main powers in Iberia, other than Portugal. Aragon had western Spain (including Barcelona and Valenica) while Castille had much of central Spain. Aragon also had possessions in the Mediterrean, such as the Balearic Islands, Sicily, Sardinia, and even the kingdom of Naples. There's an important concept I feel I should introduce here, that of personal union. The idea of one monarch being on two thrones, or holding two titles, if that makes sense. The King of Aragon was, at times, simultaneously King of Naples but different succession laws and the like meant this could go out the window really quick. So how do Castille and Aragon become Spain? Their rulers get hitched. Castille had a civil war over succession, and eventually one Isabella would come to the throne. She would then marry Ferdinand, King of Aragon. If those names seem similar, it is because these two would give Columbus his chance to sail the ocean blue in 1492 (important, important year). They would also tell the Jews in Spain they could either convert or get out in 1492. Fun times.

Now it's time to get colonizing. The conquistadors came in to wreck shop and would overthrow the Maya, Inca, and Aztec with help from native auxiliaries. Spain then proceeded to get loads of money from precious metal mining in the New World, from places like Potosi. With all this money, what better to spend it on then war? By this point, Spain was also ruled by Habsburgs. Isabella's daughter, Joanna, would be married to a Habsburg, and her son Charles, otherwise known as Charles V, would be Holy Roman Emperor, King of Castille and Aragon, as well as ruler of the Habsburg Netherlands. His son, Phillip II, would take Spain along with its Italian holdings (Naples, Sicily, and Milan), Habsburg possessions in the Netherlands, and would even be King of Portugal for a while, because the previous King of Portugal was so pious he became a Catholic cardinal, and as such didn't have kids. This would be known as the Iberian union, and would last until the Braganzas would win Portugal back. The overseas possesions of the Union are something to think about though, that's for certain. The Dutch also fought for their independence, for 80 years in the 80 Year's War. So the Habsburgs rule until 1700, and he was... pretty inbred. I am fond of the description saying, "[he] was always on the verge of death but repeatedly baffling Christendom by continuing to live." How bad the incest was wasn't extremely important other than the fact that he had no kids, and named his successor to be Philip of Anjou. The problem was, Philip was grandson of Louis XIV, France's Sun King. The sound you're hearing is Europe screaming at the idea of France and Spain being united.