Top 10 historical events from Medieval and Renaissance Spain
600 - Spania is predominantly a Visigoth kingdom, Latin-speaking, and Catholic. Minorities include Basques, Jews, and descendants from Celtiberians and Romans.
711 - Muslim conquest of the Iberian peninsula. Al-Andalus is now predominantly Muslim, Arabic-speaking, and a cultural mix of Arab and Berber. The tiny kingdom of Asturias in the north is Visigoth and Catholic.
11th - 12th centuries - The peninsula is divided into many small kingdoms and city-states, both Muslim and Catholic. Numerous Romance languages (Castillian, Portuguese, Gallego, Catalan, etc.) replace Latin, but Arabic is still widely spoken.
12th - 13th centuries - Two separate Berber invasions from Africa unite the smaller Muslim kingdoms under one rule. Catholic kingdoms begin to merge. The northern half of the peninsula is Catholic, the southern half is Muslim.
1300 - There are five kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula: Granada, Portugal, Castilla-Leon, Aragon, and Navarre. Only Granada is Muslim and Arabic-speaking; the rest are Catholic and speak Romance languages.
1469 - Isabel, heir to Castilla-Leon, and Fernando, king of Aragon and Navarre, wed, uniting most of Catholic Iberia under one rule.
1478 - Creation of the Spanish Inquisition.
1492 - Conquest of Granada by Isabel and Fernando, ending Muslim rule on the Iberian Peninsula.
Voyage of Columbus, which will eventually bring to Europe the knowledge of two previously unknown continents.
Castillian (Spanish) is the official language of Isabel and Fernando's reign.
1517 - Carlos I (Charles V), Holy Roman Emperor, becomes king of Spain. Spain is now the most powerful Empire in the world. Under Carlos I, the Aztec and Incan Empires will be conquered.
1588 - King Felipe II of Spain, the son of Carlos I and widower of Queen Mary I of England, launches the Armada against England. Its defeat signals the downfall of Spain as the most powerful country in the world.