laborlaw.bsr.org

The Iberian Peninsula has been occupied for many millennia. Some of Europe's most impressive Paleolithic cultural sites are located there; the famous caves at Altamira contain spectacular paintings which date from about 15,000-25,000 years ago. The Basques are the first identifiable people of the peninsula and are the oldest surviving group in Europe. Iberians arrived from North Africa during a more recent period.

The 1978 constitution authorized the creation of regional autonomous governments. By 1985, 17 regions covering all of peninsular Spain, the Canaries, and the Balearic Islands had negotiated autonomy statutes with the central government. In 1979, the first autonomous elections were held in the Basque and Catalan regions, which have the strongest regional traditions by virtue of their history and separate languages. Since then, autonomous governments have been created in the remainder of the 17 regions. The central government continues to devolve powers to the regional governments, which will eventually have full responsibility for health care and education, as well as other social programs.

For more information, please see the U.S. State Department site:http://www.state.gov/r/pa/bgn/index.cfm?docid=2878.