the peninsula in the 8th century, firmly established themselves, and were not finally overthrown till Granada, their last possession, was taken in 1492; sixteen years later the country became a united kingdom, and for a brief period, with its vast American colonies and wide European possessions, became in the 16th century the dominant power of Europe; since then she has lagged more and more in the race of nations, and her once vast colonial empire has gradually crumbled away till now, since the unsuccessful war with America in 1898, only an island or two remains to her.

SPALATO (15), a historic and flourishing town of Dalmatia, finely situated on a promontory on the E. side of the Adriatic, 160 m.  SE. of Fiume; a place of considerable antiquity, and one of the great cities of the Roman world; is chiefly famed for the vast palace built by Diocletian, and which became his residence after his abdication; subsidiary buildings and grounds were enclosed by walls, within which now a considerable part of the town stands; the noblest portions of the palace are still extant; the modern town carries on an active trade in grain, wine, cattle, etc.; is noted for its liqueurs.

SPALDING, a market-town in Lincolnshire, 34 m.  SE. of Lincoln, in the heart of the Fens; is a very ancient place; has a trade in agricultural produce, and is a railway centre.

SPALLANZANI, LAZARO, a noted Italian scientist, born at Scandiano, in Modena; held chairs of Philosophy and Greek in the Universities of Reggio and Modena, but more attracted to natural science he in 1768 became professor of Natural History at Pavia; wrote elaborate accounts of expeditions to Sicily and elsewhere; overturned Button’s theory of spontaneous generation, and in important works made some valuable contributions to physiological science (1729-1799).

SPANDAU (45), an important town and fortress of Prussia, in Brandenburg, at the confluence of the Spree and Havel, 8 m.  W. by N. of Berlin; fortifications are of the strongest and most modern kind, and in the “Julius Tower” of the powerful citadel the German war-chest of L6,000,000 is preserved; there is an arsenal and large Government cannon-foundries, powder-factories, etc.

SPANHEIM, FRIEDRICH, a theological professor at Geneva (1631), and afterwards at Leyden (1641); author of the work on “Universal Grace” (1600-1648).  His son, EZECHIEL SPANHEIM (1629-1710) became professor of Eloquence in his native town, Geneva, and after acting as tutor to the sons of the Elector Palatine was employed on several important diplomatic missions to Italy, England, and France; meanwhile devoted his leisure to ancient law and numismatics, publishing learned works on these subjects.  FRIEDRICH SPANHEIM, brother of preceding, was a learned Calvinistic professor of Theology at Heidelberg (1685), and afterwards at Leyden (1632-1701).

SPANISH MAIN (i. e. mainland), a name given at one time to the Central American provinces of Spain bordering on the Caribbean Sea, and also to the Caribbean Sea itself.