Until 1975 Spain was under the rule of the dictator Franco. Officially, Spain did not take part in World War I and World War II. The Spanish Civil War left much of the country in ruins. The country remained isolated from its neighbours in Western Europe, yet it started to catch up and has become one of the world’s economically stable countries.
 
The United Nations and Great Britain supported Spain (the UK had interest in Gibraltar). In the 1960s Spain imposed a lot of control measures on Gibraltar and even closed the border in 1969 (it was reopened in 1985). Spain had troops and control in Morocco but it all ended in 1956.

Dictator Franco was in power until his death in 1975. He was followed by King Juan Carlos. It was a time of havoc due to the demands from the king of Morocco, and the economy was also paralyzed. Spain changed its rule from dictatorship to a liberal state (even though Spain supported a monarchy).

Society changed as well, moving from conservative to liberal values and social moralities. In the early years of the 1980s the Union del Centro government ruled; however, following these events, the so-called 23-F coup d’etat occurred. It was an attempt to seize power against the Congress of the Deputies where Leopoldo Sotelo was to become President.

Now Spain uses the common European currency – the Euro, whereas before it used to be the Spanish Peseta. ETA is a notorious organisation that has wanted to separate the Basque country from the state. There was an atrocious commuter train bombing, where 191 people were killed and hundreds were injured. At first it looked like it was carried out by ETA, but after thorough investigation, it was confirmed that the bombing was connected to Al-Qaeda.

The first country to allow gays and lesbians to marry and adopt children was Spain – in 2005. On April 21, 2005, the country became the first country in the world to give full marriage and adoption rights to homosexual couples. Belgium and the Netherlands allow same-sex marriages, but do not allow homosexuals to adopt.