 Cantabria was first constituted as a province only in 1778, when the ancient name of Cantabria was chosen for it, later replaced by "Santander" after the main city.The province was included within the region of Old Castile when Spain's "historic regions" were defined in 1833.A proposal for a Statute of Autonomy for a Cantabrian-Castilian Federal State came forward during the Second Republic.