Correction: Spain Was a Colonial Power, Not a Colony

The premise is inverted. Spain was never colonized in the early modern period—it was a colonizer.

Spain’s African Colonies

From the 15th century, Spain established holdings in Africa:

• Canary Islands (conquered 1402–1496) – geographically African, politically Spanish.
• Ceuta (1415, from Portugal 1668) – North African enclave.
• Melilla (1497) – Mediterranean enclave.
• Western Sahara (1884–1975) – Spanish Sahara.
• Equatorial Guinea (1778–1968) – only sub-Saharan Spanish colony.
• Ifni (1934–1969) – Atlantic coast enclave.

Spain’s Own History

Spain emerged from the Reconquista (completed 1492), unified under Ferdinand and Isabella. It built a global empire—Americas, Philippines, Africa—becoming the first “empire on which the sun never sets.”

Spain lost its last African territory (Western Sahara) in 1975. Today, Ceuta and Melilla remain Spanish ciudades autónomas—claimed by Morocco.

The question reverses colonizer and colonized. Spain projected power outward; it did not receive it.