Spanish Civil War
1936-1939
Pre-war Background
Spain July 1936
Rule of Primo de Rivera
Sept. 1923
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After years of chaos, Democracy
overthrown by Miguel Primo de
Rivera.
Suspended Constitution, powers of
Cortes curtailed, strict censorship
Directorate of Army & Navy Officers
would control Spanish political life.
Alfonso XIII remained on throne but
no power
Rule of Primo de Rivera
Sept. 1923
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Political opponents banished (Don
Miguel de Unanumo)
Provinces: Military regimes with
commission of 3 generals per region
replaced civil governorships
Catalonia: Primo de Rivera crushed
separatist movement (Catalan
extremist activities grew)
Situation in Morocco
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Uprising of several tribes in the Rif
with more than 4,000 Spanish
soldiers dead
1924: Primo de Rivera decides that
protectorate should be abandoned
Head of Spanish Garrison (Colonel
Franco) felt Spain should stay
Policy of withdrawal encouraged
Moroccan rebel leader to do more
damage to Spanish garrisons
Situation in Morocco
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1925: Moroccan rebel leader began
offensive against French presence
France opted to crush rebellion and
both countries enter into joint
military offensive
1926: France & Spain agree to
delineate Moroccan frontier
33 yr. old Franco promoted to
General (said to be youngest in
Europe)
Primo’s Rule Ends
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Could never seriously tackle the
agrarian reform needed
Brought in Francisco Largo
Caballero, head of Socialist Trade
Union to set up industrial trade
boards
Caballero got heat from CNT
(Anarchist syndicalist trade union)
when he banned their publications
Primo’s Rule Ends
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Modernization of Spain was wasteful
due to ambiguous engineering
projects and bad planning.
Primo de Rivera tried to enforce his
will more and more until he offered
to resign if not given a vote of
confidence.
Resigned Jan. 1930
Miguel Primo de Rivera
King Alfonso’s Departure
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Alfonso placed another general as
head of government, (Berenguer)
Realized Constitution must be
restored
Berenguer resigned and four days
later, Admiral Aznar formed a gov't
to organize municipal elections
King Alfonso’s Departure
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Monarchists hold countryside (due to
conservative smallholders in Northern Belt
and electoral intimidation by caciques)
Every large town but Cadiz,
antimonarchical candidates
Army said no to Alfonso support, General
Sanjurjo (Commander of Civil Guard said
no)
Alfonso abdicates (British disappointed; to
them Alfonso was like them "more
articulate", Churchill)
Proclamation of 2nd
Republic (Republic of the Left)
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1931: Middle class government
stepped in to replace the king's men
(but radical!!!)
Lerroux- former radical demagogue
(corrupt)
Indalecio Prieto- R wing leader of the
PSOE (Spanish Soc. Worker's Party)
who had middle class and
intellectuals’ backing
Proclamation of 2nd
Republic (Republic of the Left)
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Francisco Largo Caballero-L wing
leader of the PSOE who had union
member backing
Fernando de los Rios- moderate
socialist professor
Cásares Quiroga-liberal Galician
lawyer
Manuel Azaña- who would be in
charge of government
Republic of the Left
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Wanted to address problems
plaguing Spain
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Social problems
Regional problems
Army
Agrarian
Social Question
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Changing attitudes of Catholic,
socialists and anarchist unions
Urban workers: (Barcelona)
syndicalism; CNT
Rural: (Andalucía) anarchy;
idealization of their own towns
as self-sufficient communities,
CNT
Regional Problems
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Catalonia (granted its autonomy in 1932) under the
Republic of the Left
Many in Cortes argued for a unified national state
Basques: moving toward same; characteristics:
religious, political isolation and agricultural selfsufficiency (In 1931, appeared more to the right than
most groups)
During the war their autonomy was promulgated (1936)
Galicia? Valencia?
Army Problem
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Most of the army was offended by Catalan autonomy
Manuel Azaña (Azaña Law) made officers swear fidelity
to the new republic or retire with full pay
Many "Africanists" thought the Republic represented the
same problem as Morocco, infestation needed to be
rooted out.
Agrarian Problem
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Excessive division of land leading to small plots
not providing owners with return sufficient to live
on
Great quantities of large estates in hands of
absentee landlords
Different classes of leases leading to confusion
and discontent
Anarchism
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Founder, Mikhail Bakunin, Russian:lived at same time
as Marx
Russian Prince who devoted himself to overthrowing
autocracies
He and Marx would struggle for control of the
International (1868-1872)
Anarchism
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All exercise of authority perverts and all submission to
authority humiliates
The worst kind of authority is the STATE which is the
most flagrant, most cynical and most complete denial
of humanity because every state like every theology,
assumes men to be fundamentally bad and wicked.
Anarchism
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Therefore, state must be done away with
State to be replaced with a free federal regime in which
autonomous bodies (societies, groups or
municipalities) contract voluntary pacts with one
another
Envisioned, cooperative communities, associating
freely
Anarchism
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Bakunin wished to destroy God also
God is creation of men’s slavish instincts and man will
never be free until he has ceased to believe in him
Theology also assumes that men are bad and wicked
Bakunin believed men to be good enough to live in a
free society, which would have its own ways of
exercising pressure upon them
Anarchism
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In the new world, public opinion would be strong
enough to deal with all infractions of its code without
recourse to any central authority
Uprising necessary to open people's eyes and unfetter
the vast potential of goodwill and set off the
spontaneous creativity of the masses
Frustration of not being able to unlock this mechanism
of history: led to individual acts of political violence.
Anarchist Socialism in
Spain
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One of Bakunin’s emissaries, Giuseppi Fanelli went to
Spain
Took root among millions of industrial workers and
millions of landless peasants
Bakunists were strongest in Andalucia (south)
Anarchism appealed to anti-centralist feelings offering
moral alternative to political corruption and hypocrisy of
church
Syndicalism
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Revolutionary doctrine by which workers seize
control of the economy and the government by
direct means (general strike) establishing an
economic organization by where industries are
owned and managed by the workers
Civil Guards
(Guardia Civil)
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Special units of paramilitary police force (rural)
eventually sprouted in cities
originated in mid 19th century (similar to Mexican “federales”)
dedicated to maintaining law and order in the country
created in response to banditry, then popular agrarian
uprisings, then radicalized labor unions
New Constitution 1931
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Article 26 separated church and state
Constitution included many other anticlerical clauses
Education to be inspired by "ideals of solidarity" (in
other words, education under Catholic control was to be
suppressed)
Azaña publicly said that Spain had ceased to be
Catholic only meaning that Spain had ceased to be
clerical.
Dissolution of certain religious orders (the Jesuits)
New Constitution 1931
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Women were granted suffrage, crime of adultery abolished
New Statute for Autonomy for Catalonia drawn up
New Institute of Agrarian Reform: new measures exceedingly complicated
and met with much opposition from expropriated landholders
Excessive bureaucracy in procedures to redistribute land
Lack of date and advanced studies on quality and fertility of land
Which land belonged to same owner?
End Result: Land reform slow in coming making discontents angry and
anxious resulting in
Agrarian Violence
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Jan 1932: Castilblanco at Badajoz (general strike by the
UGT, the socialist trade union) Four civil guards hacked
to pieces by workers;
Women of village danced around their mutilated bodies
Few days later there was a court of inquiry; no one
talked; it had been a collective deed
Similar to Lope de Vega story of Fuenteovejuña
Agrarian Violence
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Arnedo in Rioja: (shortly after Castilblanco) 7 workers died and
30 wounded by Civil Guards breaking up demonstration in front
of city hall.
Jan. 1933: Casas Viejas in Cadiz; workers declared libertarian
communism attacking headquarters of Civil Guards killing
several. Reinforcements made them retreat and 5 men, 2
women and child took refuge in shack. Civil Guards set it on fire.
14 other prisoners were put to death without trial.
Fall of the Republic of
the Left
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Right believed the reforms were too radical and rapid
Left believed they were too moderate and slow
Liberals turned against Azaña and Opposition was vociferous in their
attacks
Liberals turned out to be incapable of creating democratic habits &
customs sufficiently strong to satisfy the aspirations of both working and
governing classes.
Azaña government called for elections for Nov. 1933
National Elections 1933
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Election was essentially a referendum on legislation passed in
last two years.
Marked the official reentry into politics of the antidemocratic
Right
Conservatives gave most of their support to CEDA
(Confederación Española de Derechos Autónomos) who won
most of seats in Cortes.
The CEDA in power
1933-1936
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Once in power they:
• suspended the statute of autonomy for Catalonia
• instituted press censorship
• increased the size of the Guardia Civil (natural predator of
the working class)
• unpicked the republican and socialist legislation of the former
administration
• proceeded to repeal or suspend legislation dealing with
religion
Revolt against the Right
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Militant labor unions organized nationwide protest campaign
Oct. 1934 uprising occurred in Madrid, Catalonia, Basque provinces and
Asturias
In conjunction with uprisings Asturian revolutionary committees called for
general strike
200 miners took control of the town of Mieres and soon spreading out
through entire province
30,000 armed workers outnumbering government forces by 10 to 1
occupied every important city including capital of Oviedo and demanded
autonomous republic
Revolt in Asturias
put down
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Elite unit of Foreign Legions and regiments of North African Moors flown
in and counterattacked during a week & ½ of bloody fighting and
suppression.
Final act of desperation: workers destroyed symbols of establishment;
churches, barracks, government buildings
Victors treated the Asturians as conquered nation instituting systematic
reign of terror
1,335 dead and 3,000 wounded (modest ministry figures)
September 1935: financial scandal forced the dissolution of government
and the calling for new elections
Elections of 1936
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After 5 years of social and political instability, two coalitions that had by
then formed forced their disputes to a new vote
Long established holders of economic power, led by Army and supported
by church, (incarnation of past Spanish glories) believed they were at the
point of being overwhelmed by the left: formed coalition constituting
National Front
End of 1935: grand coalition of parties of the left began to merge in
preparation for the elections of 1936 calling themselves the Popular
Front.
The Two Factions
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Pre-War Right
CEDA (political alliance of the
right wing Catholic parties,
brought under by Gil Robles)
JAP: Juventud Acción Popular
(CEDA’s youth movement
Radical Party: lead by Alejandro
Lerroux
Lliga Catalana: part of the grande
bourgeoisie
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Popular Front Parties
Union Republicana (R wing of popular front)
Izquierda Republicana: Azañas republican left
party
Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya:
Republican L party of Catalonia (counterpart to
Azaña’s party
PSOE: Spanish Worker’s Soc. Party
UGT: trade union of socialists
PCE: Spanish Communist Party
JSU: United Socialist Youth
PSUC: United Soc. Party of Catalonia
POUM: Worker’s Party of Marxist Unification
(led by Andres Nin, Trotsky’s former secretary
Popular Front Victory
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Popular Front won a narrow victory
Azaña again became the head of the government and pardoned
all those arrested in the October Rebellion
Azaña lifted the suspension of Catalan autonomy and once again
pushed for agrarian reform
The victory of the Popular Front and the acts of violence that
followed, prompted generals to discuss dates for a
pronunciamento.
Two Spains set out to settle their differences on the field of battle