Background of the Spanish Civil War
The background of the Spanish Civil War dates back to the end of the 19th century, when the owners of large estates, called latifundios, held most of the power in a land-based oligarchy.In 1873 Isabella's replacement, King Amadeo I of the House of Savoy, abdicated due to increasing political pressure, and the short-lived First Spanish Republic was proclaimed.Alejandro Lerroux of the Radical Republican Party (RRP) formed a government with the support of CEDA and rolled back all major changes made under the previous administration, he also granted amnesty to General José Sanjurjo, who had attempted an unsuccessful coup in 1932.[3] Open violence occurred in the streets of Spanish cities and militancy continued to increase right up until the start of the civil war, reflecting a movement towards radical upheaval rather than peaceful democratic means as a solution to Spain's problems.Prime Minister Casares failed to heed warnings of a military conspiracy involving several generals, who decided that the government had to be replaced if the dissolution of Spain was to be prevented.The land-based oligarchy remained powerful; a small number of people held large estates (called latifundia) as well as all of the important government positions.During these wars, a right-wing political movement known as Carlism fought to institute a monarchial dynasty under a different branch of the House of Bourbon that was predicated and descended upon Don Infante Carlos María Isidro of Molina.[9] Uprisings were crushed by the military, and eventually the Republic was overthrown by a coup d'état of General Arsenio Martínez Campos in 1874, leading to the restoration of the Bourbons under Alfonso XII.[13] In 1897, an Italian anarchist assassinated Prime Minister Antonio Cánovas del Castillo, motivated by a growing number of arrests and the use of torture by the government.The loss of Cuba, Spain's last valuable colony, in the Spanish–American War of 1898 hit exports from Catalonia hardest; there were acts of terrorism and actions by agents provocateurs in Barcelona.[24] These events led to the establishment of the National Confederation of Labour (Spanish: Confederación Nacional del Trabajo, CNT), an anarchist-controlled trade union committed to anarcho-syndicalism.[35] In the municipal elections of 12 April 1931, little support was shown for pro-monarchy parties in the major cities, and large numbers of people gathered in the streets of Madrid.[37] Elections to a constituent Cortes in June 1931 returned a large majority of Republicans and Socialists, with the PSOE gaining 116 seats and Lerroux's Radical Party 94.[41] The government attempted to tackle the dire poverty in rural areas by instituting an eight-hour day and giving the security of tenure to farm workers.The government's reluctance to declare martial law in response and a comment attributed to Azaña that he would "rather all the churches in Spain be burnt than a single Republican harmed" prompted many Catholics to believe that the Republic was trying to prosecute Christianity.[53] The military were opposed to reorganisation, including an increase in regional autonomy granted by the central government, and reforms to improve efficiency were seen as a direct attack.Officers were retired and a thousand had their promotions reviewed, including Francisco Franco, who served as director of the General Military Academy in Zaragoza, which was closed by Manuel Azaña.[43][55] In October 1931 the conservative Catholic Republican prime-minister Alcalá-Zamora and the Interior Minister Miguel Maura resigned from the provisional government when the controversial articles 26 and 27 of the constitution, which strictly controlled Church property and prohibited religious orders from engaging in education were passed.[69] Other articles legalising divorce and initiating agrarian reforms were equally controversial,[62] and on 13 October 1931, Gil Robles, the leading spokesman of the parliamentary right, called for a Catholic Spain to make its stand against the Republic.The first working class protest came from the anarchists on 8 December 1933, and was easily crushed by force in most of Spain; Zaragoza held out for four days before the Spanish Republican Army, employing tanks, stopped the uprising.[95] Gil Robles' CEDA continued to mimic the German Nazi Party, staging a rally in March 1934, to shouts of "Jefe" ("Chief", after the Italian "Duce" used in support of Mussolini).[96] Efforts to remove local councils from socialist control prompted a general strike, which was brutally put down by Interior Minister Salazar Alonso,[nb 6] with the arrest of four deputies and other significant breaches of articles 55 and 56 of the constitution.[97] The Socialist Landworkers' Federation (Spanish: Federación Nacional da Trabajadores de la Tierra, FNTT), a trade union founded in 1930, was effectively prevented from operating until 1936.[104] Armed with dynamite, rifles, carbines and light and heavy machine guns, the revolutionaries managed to take the whole province of Asturias committing numerous murders of policemen, clergymen and civilians and destroying religious buildings including churches, convents and part of the university at Oviedo.However, President Alcalá-Zamora, aware of Franco's monarchist sympathies, opted to send General López Ochoa to Asturias to lead the government forces; hoping that his reputation as a loyal Republican would minimize the bloodshed.[110] Government troops, some brought in from Spain's Army of Africa,[111] killed men, women and children and carried out summary executions after the main cities of Asturias were retaken.[119] Stanley Payne believes that in the perspective of contemporary European history the repression of the 1934 revolution was relatively mild and that the key leaders of the rebellion were treated with leniency.[122] The Spanish historian Salvador de Madariaga, an Azaña's supporter, and an exiled vocal opponent of Francisco Franco asserted that: "The uprising of 1934 is unforgivable.[131] Azaña and Prieto hoped that by holding the positions of Prime Minister and President, they could push through enough reforms to pacify the left and deal with right-wing militancy.[138] Casares failed to heed Prieto's warnings of a military conspiracy involving several generals who disliked professional politicians and wanted to replace the government to prevent the dissolution of Spain.
latifundiospopular uprisingsIsabella IIHouse of BourbonAmadeo IHouse of SavoyFirst Spanish Republicrestoration of the BourbonsCarlistsAlejandro LerrouxrepublicanismCataloniaTragic WeekFirst World WarMiguel Primo de RiveraKing Alfonso XIIISecond Spanish RepublicSpanish Civil WarNiceto Alcalá-ZamoraZamoraGreat Depressioneight-hour dayFascismconstitutioncoalition governmentManuel Azañaelections of 1933José SanjurjoRadical Republican PartyFalange EspañolaSpanish Confederation of the Autonomous RightPopular Front1936 electionsmilitary conspiracymilitary coup in JulyconservativesSpanish Constitution of 1812Spanish monarchytheir ideology and philosophyKing Ferdinand VIITrienio LiberalbourgeoisoligarchylatifundiaCarlist WarsFirst Carlist WarSecond Carlist WarThird Carlist WarCarlismDon Infante Carlos María Isidro of MolinaAmadeo I of SpainQueen Isabella IIJoan PrimabdicatedArsenio Martínez CamposAlfonso XIIuniversal male suffragecaciquespolitical spherepatrilinealInfante CarlosCatholicismBasque CountryfuerosNational FactionanarchismMichele AngiolilloCánovasAntonio Cánovas del CastilloSpanish–American Waragents provocateursagrarianismsocialistSpanish Socialist Workers' PartyUnión General de TrabajadoresCasas del pueblocentristMarxismisolationistMadridmaurismoReformist Partyanti-clericalismdemagogueCatholic ChurchnationalismseparatismconscriptionRif WarSpanish Moroccoanarcho-syndicalismRegenerationismCommunist InternationalcommunismCommunist Partyhydroelectricpesetagold standardJosé Calvo SoteloDámaso Berenguerdictablanda dictatorshipCortesredistribution of wealthWall Street CrashChanges to the militaryRenovación EspañolaFascistJosé Antonio Primo de RiveraMasonicBolshevikCivil GuardCastilblancoABC newspaperAzañaEl DebatePedro SeguraFrancisco FrancoZaragozaSpanish Constitution of 1931Miguel MauraA new constitutionÁngel Ossorio y Gallardoseparation of Church and StateSociety of JesusJose Ortega y GassetGil Robles