Spain achieved democracy quite recently in historical terms. In 1978, the Spanish constitution was drafted under the encouragement of the remarkable King Juan Carlos I, and the constitution divided Spain into autonomous communities, or comunidades autónomas. Each autonomous community has a capital, as well as an elected legislature. They are further divided into provinces, of which there are a total of fifty. Spain's provinces are actually older than the autonomous communities; they date back to the early 19th century.
Historical development
The comunidades autónomas are roughly parallel to the medieval kingdoms that arose as Spain was reconquered from its Moorish occupants. First Asturias, then Galicia, then León and Cantabria and the rest of northern Spain, and finally the southern kingdoms came into being. These kingdoms were independent for several hundred years, and developed their own customs and often their own languages.
As León grew, a new kingdom emerged from it, the kingdom of Castilla (Castile), so named for the large number of castles in it. At this time, around 1100, the kingdom of Portugal emerged in the west, named for the city it grew around, Portus Cale, later known as Oporto. To the east, the tiny Christian enclave of Aragón grew to encompass Catalunya (Catalonia), the Balearic Islands, and later Valencia. These three kingdoms remained the most important ones in Iberia for several centuries.
These kingdoms, save Portugal, were finally unified by Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, the Catholic Kings (los reyes católicos). When they married, they assumed joint rule of most of Spain (the exception being Granada, the last enclave of Spanish Islam.) During the ensuing few centuries, they remained separate kingdoms, known as the 'Spains' (las Españas), but were ruled together by a single monarch located in Madrid.
Despite the existence of a monarchy over most of the Iberian Peninsula, Spain was a group of several kingdoms under one rule until the modern era. By 1833, when the provinces were drawn to ease central government, the formerly separate kingdoms had lost most of their political status, save for a few with strong regional identity. The 19th and 20th centuries were periods of multiple republics and dictatorships in Spain, and very few aspects of government were stable. The concept of 'autonomous communities' was created during the fifth republic, established soon after Francisco Franco's death. In recognition of their history and separate cultural identity, the former kingdoms of Spain were given a great deal of independence. Still today many residents of Spain, if asked their nationality, would name the autonomous region to which they belong rather than Spain itself.
Politics
The autonomous communities are allowed to create their own institutions, without having to follow any set model for their governments, although Spain's judicial system is unitary and doesn't fall under the auspices of the community governments. The autonomous communities have their own constitutions, heads of state, capitals, parliaments, and are granted a great degree of independence. The wide freedoms granted to the regions are a reaction to the tyranny of the Franco years, when they existed only as instruments of the central regime.
The powers delegated to them, however, differ from community to community; certain regions are afforded a greater degree of autonomy than others. Initially, autonomy was afforded to the historic nationalities of Galicia, Catalonia, and Basque Country, as they had greater cultural separation from the rest of Spain. The rest of the communities achieved autonomy by creating Statutes of Autonomy and establishing regional and local governments which then applied for autonomy from the Spanish parliament. They enjoy less independence than the historic nationalities. Andalucía was granted a compromise procedure, giving an intermediate degree of autonomy.
The Basque nation, however, was the one party involved in the planning of the government that didn't agree to the autonomy provision of the Spanish constitution. The Basques wanted more complete self-determination than that granted by the constitution; even today there are Basques calling for complete independence for Basque country. Their tactics, most notably those of the ETA separatist group, are troubling. Real independence for Basque country is unrealistic at best, given the large number of non-Basques within the historical region of the Basque country, as well as the tiny size and correspondingly tiny economy of the Basque nation.
The official documents establishing autonomy are not specific, listing a number of areas in which regional governments have 'authority', most notably in economic and regional matters. The division has never been precise, however, and the communities are granted limited primary authority; most of their power is delegated by the central government. However, the power granted in actuality is quite wide, allowing a great deal of cultural and legal freedom.
These are the autonomous communities, seventeen altogether, that comprise Spain. Where there are multiple names, the first name given is the English name, the one in parentheses is the Spanish name, and if theirs is a second in parentheses, that is the name in the regional tongue. Note that all node titles should use the English.
Many thanks to the wonderful Gritchka who got on my ass about some omissions and inaccuracies that used to be here, gave me the correct information, caused me to rewrite some sections of questionable correctness, and generally did far more than she should have had to to fix this thing.