Spain's dominant world empire of the 16th and 17th centuries ultimately generated command of the seas to England. Subsequent failure to hold the mercantile and industrial revolutions caused the country to fall behind Germany, France, and Britain in economic and political power. Spain continued to remain neutral in World War I and World War II but suffered through an upsetting civil war (1936-39). A conversion to democracy following the death of dictator Francisco FRANCO in 1975, and rapid economic modernization gave Spain a dynamic and rapid rout to increasing the economy and made it a global victor of freedom and human rights. Recently the government has had to focus on actions to reverse an unadorned economic recession that began in early
