1094 El Cid, a Castilian Christian, fought the Moors and conquered Valencia
1100s Portugal gained its independence
1200s The Muslim territory had been reduced to the Kingdom of Granada
1200's The Christian territory controlled the Kingdoms of Aragon, Navarre, and Castile
1469 The marriage of Prince Ferdinand of Aragon and Princess Isabella of Castille
1474 Isabella became Queen of Castile
1479 Ferdinand became King of Aragon
1480 The Spanish Inquisition was established
1492 The Muslims of Granada were defeated
1492 Christopher Columbus voyage to America was financed by the King and Queen
1494 Spain and Portugal claimed the lands of the New World
1513 Vasco Nunez de Balboa crossed Central America
1516 Charles I became Spanish king and extended the Spanish Empire to include Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg
1519 Charles I became the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V
1521 Hernando Cortes conquered the Mexican Aztecs
1533 Francisco Pizarro conquered the South American Inca empire
1588 Philip launched the Spanish Armada which the English defeated
1714 The War of the Spanish Succession ended when Spain lost all of its European empire
1763 Spain lost Florida to the United Kingdom
1808 French forces led by Napoleon conquered Spain but the Spanish regained control in 1814
17 July 1821 Spain ceded Florida to the United States
1898 The Spanish were defeated in the Spanish - American War . Cuba was given its independence and Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico were given to the United States
1914-1918 World War I - Spain remained neutral
April 1931 The Spaniards voted for a republican form of Spanish government
1936 General Francisco Franco became the leader of the rebels and civil war ensued
1939-1945 World War II - Spain remained neutral
1969 Franco declared that Prince Juan Carlos would become the next king of Spain
1975 Franco died and Juan Carlos became king