AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITIES OF SPAIN

ANDALUSIA

Formation: May 15, 756 CE (as Emirate of Cordoba) (official)

929 CE (as Caliphate of Cordoba) (official)
1023 (as the Taifa Kingdom of Seville) (official)
1230 (as Emirate of Granada) (official) (official)
February 28, 1980 (Autonomous Community) (official)
Statute of Autonomy: December 30, 1981 (official date)
March 19, 2007 (current version)
Capital: Seville
Motto: Andalusia by itself, for Spain and humanity.
Anthem: The White and Green flag
National Day: February 28 (as Andalusia Day)
Name of Origin: From the Arabic name (Al-Andalus, with several suggested
etymologies) formerly applied to the whole Iberian Peninsula.
ARAGON

Formation: 807 CE (as County of Aragon) (official)

1035 (as the Kingdom of Aragon) (official)
1162 (as Crown of Aragon) (official)
Statute of Autonomy: August 16, 1982 (official date)
April 18, 2007 (current version)
Capital: Zaragoza
Motto: In Aragon, before there were laws than kings.
Anthem: Aragon Hymn (official)
National Day: April 23
Name of Origin:
- From the Aragon River, which gave its name to the county of Aragon, one
of the little Christian polities that resisted Islamic rule in Spain during its
greatest extent (see Reconquista).

ASTURIAS
Formation: 722 CE (as the Kingdom of Asturias) (official)
1230 (as Comarca of Asturias of Oviedo) (official)
November 30, 1833 (as Oviedo Province) (official)
Statute of Autonomy: December 30, 1981 (official date)
Capital: Oviedo
Motto: By this sign is the pious safeguarded. By this sign is the enemy.
conquered.
Anthem: Asturias, beloved fatherland
National Day: September 08
Name of Origin:
- The land of the Astures, an early people of northwest Spain.

BALEARIC ISLANDS
Formation: 1010 (as the Taifa of Denia) (official)
1018 (as the Taifa of Majorca) (official)
1231 (as the Kingdom of Majorca) (official)
Statute of Autonomy: February 25, 1983 (official date)
March 01, 2007 (current version)
Capital: Palma de Mallorca
Motto: None
Anthem: The Balanguera
National Day: March 01
Name of Origin:
- From "of or about the islands in the Mediterranean just east of Spain,"
1660s, from Latin Balearicus, from Greek Baliarikos, from the ancient name
of the islands and their inhabitants; traditionally "the slingers" (from ballein
"to throw, sling") about their weapons.

BASQUE COUNTRY
Formation: 602 CE (as Duchy of Vasconia) (official)
1016 (as part of Kingdom of Navarre) (official)
1876 (Basque Economic Agreement) (official)
Statute of Autonomy: October 25, 1979 (official date)
Capital: Vitoria-Gasteiz (de facto)
Motto: The seven are one.
Anthem: Anthem of the Basque ethnicity.
National Day: Easter Sunday (movable date)
Name of Origin:
- The English word Basque may be pronounced /bɑːsk/ or /bæsk/ and
derives from the French Basque (French: [bask]), which is derived from
Gascon Basco (pronounced [ˈbasku]), cognate with Spanish Vasco
(pronounced [ˈbasko]). Some scholars have suggested a Celtic etymology
based on bhar-s-, meaning "summit", "point" or "leaves", according to
which barscunes may have meant "the mountain people", "the tall ones" or
"the proud ones", while others have posited a relationship to a proto-Indo-
European root *bar- meaning "border", "frontier", "march".

COMMUNITY OF MADRID
Formation: 1010 (as Taifa of Toledo) (official)
1085 (as the Kingdom of Toledo) (official)
November 30, 1833 (as New Castile Province) (official)
Statute of Autonomy: February 25, 1983 (official date)
Capital: Madrid
Motto: None
Anthem: Anthem of the Community of Madrid
National Day: May 02
Name of Origin:
- The Spanish capital, of unknown origin; first attested 932 as Majerit.
- A Celtic origin (Madrid from Magetoritum; with the root "-Ritu" meaning
"ford").
- From the Arabic maǧrà (meaning "water stream").
- A Mozarabic variant of the Latin matrix, matricis (also meaning "water
stream").

CANARY ISLANDS
Formation: 1404 (as the Kingdom of the Canary Islands) (official)
November 30, 1833 (as Canary Islands Province) (official)
September 23, 1927 (Canary Islands Partition) (official)
Statute of Autonomy: August 10, 1982 (official date)
November 07, 2018 (current version)
Capital: Las Palmas, Santa Cruz
Motto: Ocean.
Anthem: Anthem of the Canaries
Name of Origin:
- Canariae Insulae, meaning "Islands of the Dogs", a name that was
generalized from the ancient name of one of these islands, Canaria –
presumably Gran Canaria. According to the historian Pliny the Elder, the
island Canaria contained "vast multitudes of dogs of very large size".

CANTABRIA
Formation: 574 CE (as Duchy of Cantabria) (official)
739 CE (Union with Asturias) (official)
July 28, 1778 (as Cantabria Province) (official)
November 30, 1833 (as Santander Province) (official)
Statute of Autonomy: January 11, 1982 (official date)
February 01, 1982 (implemented in effect)
Capital: Santander
Motto: Infinite Cantabria.
Anthem: Anthem to the Mountain
National Day: Second Sunday of August
Name of Origin:
- From the Cantabri, a mountain people were defeated by the Romans only
after a great military effort (Cantabrian Wars, 29 – 19 BCE). The word
"cantabrus" means "dwelling in the mountains", referring to the rugged
terrain of Cantabria.

CASTILE AND LEON

Formation: December 10, 910 CE (as the Kingdom of Leon) (official)
September 23, 1230 (Union of Castile and Leon) (official)
November 30, 1833 (as Old Castile) (official)
Statue of Autonomy: March 02, 1983 (official date)
Capital: Valladolid (de facto)
Motto: None
Anthem: None (official). Mother Castile, and Song of Hope (unofficial)
National Day: April 23
Name of Origin:
- The Spanish/Castilian name Castilla reflects the Spanish Castillo ("castle")
and the Latin castellum ("fort" or "fortress") regarding numerous forts or
castles erected by King Alfonso I for the defense of the area.
- The ancient kingdom and subsequent province of León take their name
from the city of León, whose name derives from its position as the base of
a Roman legion (Latin legio).

CASTILLA-LA MANCHA
Formation: 1010 (as Taifa of Toledo) (official)
1065 (as the Kingdom of Castile) (official)
September 23, 1230 (Union of Castile and Leon) (official)
November 30, 1833 (as New Castile Province)
Statute of Autonomy: August 16, 1982 (official date)
Capital: Toledo (de facto)
Motto: None
Anthem: None
National Day: May 31
Name of Origin:
- Castilla is a north-central Spanish region and the name refers to Castillo -
hence the emblem for this region is a tower. La Mancha - literally “The
Stain" and a central Spanish region.

CATALONIA
Formation: 801 CE (County of Barcelona) (official)
1137 (Union with Aragon) (official)
1283 (Catalan constitutions) (official)
1516 (Union of Castile and Aragon under Charles I) (official)
1716 (Nueva Planta Decrees) (official)
Statute of Autonomy: September 09, 1932 (first version)
September 18, 1979 (second version)
August 09, 2006 (current version)
Capital: Barcelona
Motto: We are and we will be.
Anthem: The Reapers
National Day: September 11
Name of Origin:
- From the castlà ("castellan") class governed nascent feudal Catalonia from
their castles in the 11th and 12th centuries.

EXTREMADURA
Formation: 1009 (as Taifa of Badajoz) (official)
Statute of Autonomy: February 26, 1983 (official date)
Capital: Merida
Motto: Further Beyond.
Anthem: Anthem of Extremadura
National Day: September 08
Name of Origin:
- From Medieval Latin Extrema Dorii (literally, "extremes of the Douro river"),
referring to the territories south of the Douro basin; or from an Old
Castilian word used to designate the further territories controlled by the
Christians (see Reconquista).

GALICIA
Formation: 298 CE (as Roman Province of Gallaecia) (official)
409 CE (as the Suevi Kingdom of Gallaecia) (official)
740 CE (incorporated into the Kingdom of Asturias) (official)
Statute of Autonomy: July 15, 1936 (first version)
April 15, 1981 (official date)
Capital: Santiago de Compostela
Motto: Here is the mystery of faith that we strongly profess.
Anthem: The Pine Trees
National Day: July 25
Name of Origin:
- From Latin Gallaecia, the name of the province was created in Roman
Hispania by Diocletian in 298 CE. It derives from gallicoi or callicoi, (Galli or
Celts).

LA RIOJA
Formation: 574 CE (as Duchy of Cantabria) (official)
970 CE (as the Kingdom of Viguera) (official)
1005 (as part of Kingdom of Pamplona/Navarre) (official)
January 1822 (as Logroño Province) (official)
Statute of Autonomy: June 09, 1982 (official date)
Capital: Logroño
Motto: None
Anthem: La Rioja
National Day: June 09
Name of Origin:
- It speculatively interpreted as "red" from the redness of a prominent soil
type in the area.

MURCIA
Formation: 1011 (as Taifa of Murcia) (official)
1266 (as the Kingdom of Murcia) (official)
November 30, 1833 (as Murcia Province) (official)
Statute of Autonomy: June 09, 1982 (official date)
Capital: Murcia City
Motto: None
Anthem: None (official), Song of Murcia (unofficial)
National Day: June 09
Name of Origin:
- It could refer to the Roman goddess Venus Murcia, from the myrtles on the
banks of the Segura River. Historical studies conclude that, like the deity,
Murcia is of Latin origin deriving most likely from Myrtea or Murtea ("place
of myrtles" or "place where myrtles grow").

NAVARRE
Formation: 824 CE (as the Kingdom of Navarre) (official)
November 30, 1833 (as Navarre Province) (official)
Statute of Autonomy: August 16, 1982 (official date)
Capital: Pamplona
Motto: For liberty, the motherland, and the free state.
Anthem: Anthem of the Courts
National Day:
Name of Origin:
- From the Kingdom of Navarre. Navarra has been argued to have either a
Basque or Romance etymology. In the first case, it would come from nabar
("brownish, multicolor", also "plowshare"), in the second from Nava
("riverbank").

VALENCIA
Formation: 1010 (as Taifa of Valencia) (official)
1238 (as the Kingdom of Valencia) (official)
1707 (Nueva Planta Decrees) (official)
Statute of Autonomy: July 01, 1982 (official date)
April 10, 2006 (current version)
Capital: Valencia City
Motto: Because we were, we are and because we are, we will be.
Anthem: Anthem of Valencia
National Day: October 09
Name of Origin:
- Valencia was founded by the Romans under the name of "Valentia
Edetanorum", which translates to 'Valiance (or Courage) of the Land of the
Lamb'. With the establishment of the Taifa of Valencia, the name developed
to ‫( بلنسية‬Balansīyah), which eventually became Valencia after the expulsion
of the Moors.

AUTONOMOUS CITIES OF SPAIN

CEUTA

Founded: 1st Millennium BCE (recognized date)

Muslim Rule: 710 CE (official)
Portuguese Rule: August 14, 1415 (official)
Ceded to Spain: January 01, 1668 (official)
Autonomy Status: March 14, 1995 (official)
Motto: Noble, loyal, and very faithful city of Ceuta.
Anthem: Ceuta, my beloved city.
NationalDay: September 02
Name of Origin:
- The Roman stronghold at the site took the name "Fort at the Seven
Brothers" (Castellum ad Septem Fratres).[9] This was gradually shortened
to Septem[14] (Σέπτον Sépton) or, occasionally, Septum or Septa. These
clipped forms continued as Berber Sebta and Arabic Sabtan or Sabtah (
‫)سبتة‬, which themselves became Ceuta in Portuguese (pronounced [ˈsewtɐ])
and Spanish (pronounced [ˈθewta]).
MELILLA
Founded: 46 CE (as Rusadir) (official)
Ceded to Spain: July 02, 1494 (Treaty of Tordesillas) (official)
Occupied: September 17, 1497 (official)
Autonomy Status: March 13, 1995 (official)
Motto: It is convenient to put the motherland before the family.
Anthem: Anthem of Melilla
National Day: September 17
Name of Origin:
- Diminutive from melinus (“of or pertaining to honey”), from mel (“honey”).
The etymology of the current city name (dating back to the 9th century,
rendered as Melilla in Spanish) is uncertain.
- The current Riffian name of Melilla is Mřič or Mlilt, which means the "white
one".
- The original name (currently rendered as Rusadir), was a Phoenician name,
coming from the name given to the nearby Cape Three Forks. Addir meant
"powerful".