In history, a colony is a territory under the immediate complete political control and occupied by settlers of a state, distinct from the home territory of the sovereign. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception.
The history of Spain dates back to the Middle Ages. In 1516, Habsburg Spain unified a number of disparate predecessor kingdoms; its modern form of a constitutional monarchy was introduced in 1813, and the current democratic constitution dates to 1978.
Mercantilism is a national economic policy that is designed to maximize the exports of a nation. Mercantilism was dominant in modernized parts of Europe from the 16th to the 18th centuries during the period of Proto-industrialization before falling into decline, although some commentators argue that it is still practiced in the economies of industrializing countries in the form of economic interventionism.
Pamplona or Iruña is the capital city of the Autonomous Community of Navarre, in Spain, and historically also of the former Kingdom of Navarre. Pamplona is also the second largest city in the greater Basque cultural region, composed of two Spanish autonomous communities, Navarre and Basque Country, and the French Basque Country.
The picaresque novel is a genre of prose fiction that depicts the adventures of a roguish, but "appealing hero", of low social class, who lives by his wits in a corrupt society. Picaresque novels typically adopt a realistic style, with elements of comedy and satire. This style of novel originated in Spain in 1554 and flourished throughout Europe for more than 200 years, though the term "picaresque novel" was only coined in 1810. It continues to influence modern literature. The term is also sometimes used to describe works, like Cervantes' Don Quixote and Charles Dickens' Pickwick Papers, which only contain some of the genre's elements.
The Count of Barcelona was the ruler of Catalonia for much of Catalan history, from the 9th century until the 15th century.
Baptist successionism is one of several theories on the origin and continuation of Baptist churches. The theory postulates an unbroken lineage of churches which have held beliefs similar to those of current Baptists. Groups often included in this lineage include the Montanists, Paulicians, Cathari, Waldenses, Albigenses, and Anabaptists.
The early modern period of modern history follows the late Middle Ages of the post-classical era. Although the chronological limits of the period are open to debate, the timeframe spans the period after the late portion of the post-classical age, known as the Middle Ages, through the beginning of the Age of Revolutions and is variously demarcated by historians as beginning with the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, with the Renaissance period in Europe, the Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent, and with the Age of Discovery, and ending around the French Revolution in 1789.
Kyustendil is a town in the far west of Bulgaria, the capital of the Kyustendil Province, a former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see.
A colonial empire is a collective of territories, mostly overseas, settled by the population of a certain state and governed by that state.
L'Alcúdia is a town and municipality in the province of Valencia, Spain. It is located on the left bank of the river Xuquer.
Caspe or Casp is a historic town and municipality in the province of Zaragoza, in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It is situated some 100 km to the east of the provincial capital, Zaragoza.
A Banbury cake is a spiced, currant-filled, flat pastry cake similar to an Eccles cake, although it is more oval in shape. Once made and sold exclusively in Banbury, England, Banbury cakes have been made in the region to secret recipes since 1586 and are still made there today, although not in such quantity. The cakes were once sent as far afield as Australia, the East Indies and America, normally in locally-made wickerwork baskets.
Dame Frances Lannon DBE FRHistS is a retired British academic and educator. She was Principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford.
Hispania was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divided into two new provinces, Baetica and Lusitania, while Hispania Citerior was renamed Hispania Tarraconensis. Subsequently, the western part of Tarraconensis was split off, first as Hispania Nova, later renamed "Callaecia". From Diocletian's Tetrarchy onwards, the south of remaining Tarraconensis was again split off as Carthaginensis, and probably then too the Balearic Islands and all the resulting provinces formed one civil diocese under the vicarius for the Hispaniae. The name, Hispania, was also used in the period of Visigothic rule.
The Seicento is Italian history and culture during the 17th century. The seicento saw the end of the Renaissance movement in Italy and the beginning of the Counter-Reformation and the Baroque era. The word seicento means "six hundred" and is short for milleseicento, 1600.
Ottoman Tunis refers to the episode of the Turkish presence in Ifriqiya during the course of three centuries from the 16th century until the 18th century, when Tunis was officially integrated into the Ottoman Empire as the Eyalet of Tunis (province). Eventually including all of the Maghrib except Morocco, the Ottoman Empire began with the takeover of Algiers in 1516 by the Ottoman Turkish corsair and beylerbey Oruç Reis. The first Ottoman conquest of Tunis took place in 1534 under the command of Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha, the younger brother of Oruç Reis, who was the Kapudan Pasha of the Ottoman Fleet during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. However, it wasn't until the final Ottoman reconquest of Tunis from Spain in 1574 under Kapudan Pasha Uluç Ali Reis that the Turks permanently acquired the former Hafsid Tunisia, retaining it until the French occupation of Tunisia in 1881.
Captain General has been the highest rank in the Spanish Army since the 18th century. A five-star rank with NATO code OF-10, it is equivalent to a field marshal of the armies of numerous countries, a general of the Army of the United States, a captain general of the Spanish Navy (Armada Española) or a Captain general of the Air Force in the Spanish Air Force (Ejército del Aire). A Captain General's insignia consists of two command sticks under five four-pointed stars below the Royal Crown.
