In Antiquity Navarre was merely a part of the territory of the Vascons; it remained free of Roman and Visigoth influence, as did the Basque Country, and still retains many signs of the important role that its strategic position enabled it to play in the past.

In the Middle Ages it played an important role in the Reconquest, attaining its maximum power in the reign of Sancho III. From that time on, Navarre was sometimes independent and on other occasions linked to Aragon or France. When the confrontation between the Catholic Monarchs and France came in 1512, Ferdinand the Catholic conquered it and incorporated it into a unified Spain, although it retained its local charter.

In 1607 Lower Navarre was united with France under Henry IV, whose descendants would continue to call themselves Kings of France and Navarre. The five communities of Upper Navarre were incorporated into the Kingdom of Castile anbd succedeed in enjoying considerable autonomy. The transition from Kingdom to province was carried out gradually until a total integration was achieved.

In the 19th century, a large majority of the population supported absolutism and Casrlism while Pamplona remained firmly on the side of liberalism. In 1841 it became a province, although it retained many of the institutions of its local charter which survived the Spanish Civil War.