Spain (officially The Kingdom of Spain) is located on the Iberian Peninsula (along with Portugal and Gibraltar) and has been inhabited by modern humans for about 35,000 years. About the same time as Aborigines have been in Australia.
It has an area of approx 507,000 km², about twice the area of New Zealand, and a population of about 47 million compared to our 4.5 million.
Spain is a constitutional monarchy, with a hereditary monarch and a bicameral parliament(two houses or chambers).
New Zealand is also a constitutional monarchy but we have a unicameral parliament (one house or chamber).
The present constitution has been in place since 1978 after the death of Franco.
The present monarch and Head of State is King Felipe VI (since June 2014).
Previously Spain had been a fascist dictatorship under General Francisco Franco after he won the 1936 -39 Spanish Civil War. Franco’s Nationalist forces (supported by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy) fought the Republican side (supported by the Soviet Union, Mexico and International Brigades). The war was viciously fought with many atrocities on both sides and over half a million killed.
The Constitution allows for the right of self-government to the “nationalities and regions” of Spain. Autonomous communities were to be integrated with adjacent provinces with common historical, cultural, and economical traits.
Spain is made up of 17 of these autonomous communities and 2 autonomous cities. In turn these communities are made up of 50 provinces, and below this are hundreds of municipalities.
Each of the seventeen communities has a different degree and form of autonomy. Some have their own laws, police force, education and health systems, and language. Very different to New Zealand, but similar to say the United States or Australia.
On The Camino we will pass through 4 of these autonomous communities: Navarre, Le Rioja, Castile and Leon, and Galicia.
Officially the language of Spain is Castilian Spanish but there are co-official languages of Catalan, Basque and Galician.
Spain is a member of the European Community (EU), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and NATO.
