How Old is Spain as a Unified Country?

Five Centuries of Unity

Spain has existed as a unified sovereign state for over 500 years. The foundational moment is 19 April 1479, when the Treaty of Alcáçovas confirmed the dynastic union of the Crown of Castile (Isabella I) and the Crown of Aragon (Ferdinand II) following their 1469 marriage.

Key Milestones

• 1492: Conquest of Granada (last Muslim emirate); Columbus's voyage; expulsion of Jews—symbolic birth of "Catholic Spain."
• 1516: Charles I (V of HRE) inherits united crowns, creating the Habsburg Spanish Empire.
• 1715: Nueva Planta decrees (Philip V) abolish separate Aragonese/Catalan institutions, centralizing administration—modern unitary state.
• 1812: Constitution of Cádiz—first liberal constitution.
• 1978: Current democratic Constitution after Franco dictatorship.

Pre-Unification

The Iberian Peninsula hosted Roman Hispania, Visigothic Kingdom, Al-Andalus (Muslim rule), and competing Christian kingdoms (Asturias, León, Navarre, Aragon, Castile, Portugal) for centuries before 1479.