Colombia,officially the Republic of Colombia,is a country mostly in South America with insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north,Venezuela to the east and northeast,Brazil to the southeast,Ecuador and Peru to the south and southwest,the Pacific Ocean to the west,and Panama to the northwest. Colombia is divided into 32 departments. The Capital District of Bogotáis also the country's largest city hosting the main financial and cultural hub. Other major urbes include Medellín,Cali,Barranquilla,Cartagena,Santa Marta,Cúcuta,Ibagué,Villavicencio and Bucaramanga. It covers an area of 1,141,748 square kilometers and has a population of around 52 million. Its rich cultural heritage—including language,religion,cuisine,and art—reflects its history as a colony,fusing cultural elements brought by immigration from Europe and the Middle East,with those brought by the African diaspora,as well as with those of the various Indigenous civilizations that predate colonization. Spanish is the official language,although Creole English and 64 other languages are recognized regionally.
Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain,designated as a nationality by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory lies on the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula,to the south of the Pyrenees mountain range. Catalonia is administratively divided into four provinces or eight regions,which are in turn divided into 42 comarques. The capital and largest city,Barcelona,is the second-most populated municipality in Spain and the fifth-most populous urban area in the European Union.
The Dominican Republic is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea,bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island,which it shares with Haiti,making Hispaniola one of only two Caribbean islands,along with Saint Martin,that is shared by two sovereign states. It is the second-largest nation in the Antilles by area at 48,671 square kilometers (18,792 sq mi),and second-largest by population,with approximately 11.4 million people in 2024,of whom approximately 3.6 million live in the metropolitan area of Santo Domingo,the capital city.
Francisco Franco Bahamonde was a Spanish military general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 1939 to 1975 as a dictator,assuming the title Caudillo. This period in Spanish history,from the Nationalist victory to Franco's death,is commonly known as Francoist Spain or as the Francoist dictatorship.
Morocco,officially the Kingdom of Morocco,is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west,and has land borders with Algeria to the east,and the disputed territory of Western Sahara to the south. Morocco also claims the Spanish exclaves of Ceuta,Melilla and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera,and several small Spanish-controlled islands off its coast. It has a population of roughly 37 million,the official and predominant religion is Islam,and the official languages are Arabic and Berber;French and the Moroccan dialect of Arabic are also widely spoken. Moroccan identity and culture is a mix of Arab,Berber,African and European cultures. Its capital is Rabat,while its largest city is Casablanca.
Puerto Rico,officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,is a Caribbean island,Commonwealth,and unincorporated territory of the United States. It is located in the northeast Caribbean Sea,approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 km) southeast of Miami,Florida,between the Dominican Republic and the U.S. Virgin Islands,and includes the eponymous main island and several smaller islands,such as Mona,Culebra,and Vieques. With roughly 3.2 million residents,it is divided into 78 municipalities,of which the most populous is the capital municipality of San Juan. Spanish and English are the official languages of the executive branch of government,though Spanish predominates.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol,commonly referred to as Real Madrid,is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga,the top tier of Spanish football.
Spain,or the Kingdom of Spain,is a country located in Southwestern Europe,with parts of its territory in the Atlantic Ocean,the Mediterranean Sea and Africa. It is the largest country in Southern Europe and the fourth-most populous European Union member state. Spanning across the majority of the Iberian Peninsula,its territory also includes the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean,the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea,and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla in Africa. Peninsular Spain is bordered to the north by France,Andorra,and the Bay of Biscay;to the east and south by the Mediterranean Sea and Gibraltar;and to the west by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. Spain's capital and largest city is Madrid,and other major urban areas include Barcelona,Valencia,Zaragoza,Seville,Málaga,Murcia,Palma de Mallorca,Las Palmas de Gran Canaria,and Bilbao.
Spanish or Castilian(castellano) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today,it is a global language with about 500 million native speakers,mainly in the Americas and Spain,and about 600 million when including speakers as a second language. Spanish is the official language of 20 countries,as well as one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Spanish is the world's second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese;the world's fourth-most spoken language overall after English,Mandarin Chinese,and Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu);and the world's most widely spoken Romance language. The country with the largest population of native speakers is Mexico.
The Spanish–American War began in the aftermath of the internal explosion of USS Maine in Havana Harbor in Cuba,leading to United States intervention in the Cuban War of Independence. The war led to the United States emerging predominant in the Caribbean region,and resulted in U.S. acquisition of Puerto Rico,Guam,and the Philippines. It also led to United States involvement in the Philippine Revolution and later to the Philippine–American War.
Futbol Club Barcelona,commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça,is a professional football club based in Barcelona,Catalonia,Spain,that competes in La Liga,the top flight of Spanish football.
Francoist Spain,also known as the Francoist dictatorship,was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975,when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title Caudillo. After his death in 1975,Spain transitioned into a democracy. During this time period,Spain was officially known as the Spanish State.
The Spanish Empire,sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy,was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire,it was the first empire to usher the European Age of Discovery and achieve a global scale,controlling vast portions of the Americas,Africa,various islands in Asia and Oceania,as well as territory in other parts of Europe. It was one of the most powerful empires of the early modern period,becoming known as "the empire on which the sun never sets". At its greatest extent in the late 1700s and early 1800s,the Spanish Empire covered over 13 million square kilometres,making it one of the largest empires in history.
The Spain national football team has represented Spain in men's international football competitions since 1920. It is governed by the Royal Spanish Football Federation,the governing body for football in Spain.
The Iberian Union is a historiographical term used to describe the dynastic union of the Monarchy of Spain,which in turn was itself a dynastic union of the crowns of Castile and Aragon,and the Kingdom of Portugal,and of their respective colonial empires,that existed between 1580 and 1640 and brought the entire Iberian Peninsula except Andorra,as well as Portuguese and Spanish overseas possessions,under the Spanish Habsburg monarchs Philip II,Philip III,and Philip IV. The union began after the Portuguese crisis of succession and the ensuing War of the Portuguese Succession,and lasted until the Portuguese Restoration War,during which the House of Braganza was established as Portugal's new ruling dynasty with the acclamation of John IV as the new King of Portugal.
Mexico,officially the United Mexican States,is a country in the southern portion of North America. It covers 1,972,550 km2,making it the world's 13th-largest country by area;with a population of almost 130 million,it is the 10th-most-populous country and the most populous Spanish-speaking country. Mexico is organized as a federal constitutional republic comprising 31 states and Mexico City,its capital. It shares land borders with the United States to the north,with Guatemala and Belize to the southeast;as well as maritime borders with the Pacific Ocean to the west,the Caribbean Sea to the southeast,and the Gulf of Mexico to the east.
Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory and city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula,on the Bay of Gibraltar,near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean. It has an area of 6.7 km2 (2.6 sq mi) and is bordered to the north by Spain. The landscape is dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar,at the foot of which is a densely populated town area,home to some 32,688 people,primarily Gibraltarians.
The Spanish Civil War was fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republicans and the Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the left-leaning Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic,and consisted of various socialist,communist,separatist,anarchist,and republican parties,some of which had opposed the government in the pre-war period. The opposing Nationalists were an alliance of Falangists,monarchists,conservatives,and traditionalists led by a military junta among whom General Francisco Franco quickly achieved a preponderant role. Due to the international political climate at the time,the war had many facets and was variously viewed as class struggle,a religious struggle,a struggle between dictatorship and republican democracy,between revolution and counterrevolution,and between fascism and communism. According to Claude Bowers,U.S. ambassador to Spain during the war,it was the "dress rehearsal" for World War II. The Nationalists won the war,which ended in early 1939,and ruled Spain until Franco's death in November 1975.
Argentina,officially the Argentine Republic,is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of 2,780,400 km2 (1,073,500 sq mi),making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil,the fourth-largest country in the Americas,and the eighth-largest country in the world. It shares the bulk of the Southern Cone with Chile to the west,and is also bordered by Bolivia and Paraguay to the north,Brazil to the northeast,Uruguay and the South Atlantic Ocean to the east,and the Drake Passage to the south. Argentina is a federal state subdivided into twenty-three provinces,and one autonomous city,which is the federal capital and largest city of the nation,Buenos Aires. The provinces and the capital have their own constitutions,but exist under a federal system. Argentina claims sovereignty over the Falkland Islands,South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands,the Southern Patagonian Ice Field,and a part of Antarctica.
Madrid is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU),and its monocentric metropolitan area is the second-largest in the EU. The municipality covers 604.3 km2 (233.3 sq mi) geographical area. Madrid lies on the River Manzanares in the central part of the Iberian Peninsula at about 650 meters above mean sea level. The capital city of both Spain and the surrounding autonomous community of Madrid,it is also the political,economic,and cultural centre of the country. The climate of Madrid features hot summers and cool winters.
