Spain

Spain was a country in southwestern Europe. It was bordered to the west by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean, to the north by France to the south by Gibraltar and the Mediterranean Sea.

History

15th century

By the 15th century, it was against Spanish customs to engage in the slave trade. (AUDIO: Trouble in Paradise)

16th century

During the late 16th century, Spain fought a war with England. (AUDIO: The Flames of Cadiz, AUDIO: Voyage to the New World)

In 1587, Sir Francis Drake launched an attack on the Spanish Navy in the port of Cadiz. The destruction suffered by the Spanish fleet delayed the Spanish Armada until 1588. (AUDIO: The Flames of Cadiz)

In 1603, shortly before her death, Queen Elizabeth I told the Seventh Doctor that the defeat of the Spanish Armada "saved [her] realm." (PROSE: Birthright)

20th century

The Spanish Civil War took place in the 1930s. It saw two large political parties and their supporters fight for control of Spain. During this time, many previously small factions came into play. Anarchists, communists and fascists all took part in the war.

The Eighth Doctor, Anji Kapoor and Fitz Kreiner visited Spain in 1937. They stayed in the anarchist-held Barcelona while studying anomalies in history. (PROSE: History 101)

In 1962, Barbara Wright went on holiday to Toledo. (AUDIO: The Flames of Cadiz)

In 1966, the country was a destination of the villainous Chameleon Tours. (TV: The Faceless Ones)

In 1985, a Sontaran-Androgum group landed in Seville, taking over a local villa. One of the Androgums, along with an infected Second Doctor, headed into town to try one of the local restaurants. (TV: The Two Doctors)

21st century

Elton Pope was fond of Spain, as he noted in his video diary. (TV: Love & Monsters)

During the "Cyberman invasion", Donna Noble was scuba-diving in Spain and didn't witness them even though, as the Tenth Doctor noted, "They had Cybermen in Spain too". (TV: The Runaway Bride)

Shortly after Miracle Day in 2011, Spain nearly went into bankruptcy. (TV: End of the Road)

By 2059, Spain was involved in space travel. When the Tenth Doctor arrived at Bowie Base One, it was theorised that he might be part of a Spanish Mars mission. (TV: The Waters of Mars)

22nd century

By 2108, Malaga was an independent state. (AUDIO: The Two Irises)

Behind the scenes

• To date, Doctor Who has filmed four stories in Spain. The first was TV: Planet of Fire, which was shot in the Canary Islands, a Spanish dependency. This was followed by TV: The Two Doctors, shot in Seville. In the seventh series of the revived series, Spanish mountain range Sierra Nevada served as the surface of the Dalek Asylum in TV: Asylum of the Daleks, while Almeria's legendary Spaghetti Western sets were used to depict Mercy, Nevada in TV: A Town Called Mercy.