Spanish Civil war

Long-term causes for the spanish civil war

• regional linguistic and cultural differences

• regional economic differences

• land ownership concentration

• political and ideological divide

• conservative power

• catholic church influence

• Anarcho-Syndicalism in urban areas

• Anarchism in rural areas

• Left-Wing Ideological Divisions

How did regionalism contribute to Spain’s fragmentation before the Civil War?

• groups such as the Basques, Catalans, and Galicians had cultural, linguistic, and economic differences

• prevented national cooperation and loyalty to Spain as a whole.

What economic differences existed between regions in Spain before the Civil War?

• Some regions, particularly industrial ones, were economically strong

• others were backward, especially in terms of agricultural production

• In some areas, small peasant landholders dominated agriculture, while others had large estates owned by few families.

What role did land ownership play in Spain's divisions leading to the Civil War?

land ownership was concentrated with half the land of spain owned by 50,000 individuals

How did the Catholic Church influence Spanish society before the Civil War?

• Catholic Church retained significant influence in Spanish society

• especially in education, aligning itself with the conservative political right.

What was anarcho-syndicalism?

A political doctrine that advocates replacing central governments with decentralized, worker-controlled committees loosely based on a trade union model. It achieved its greatest success in the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT)

Which party was for anarcho-syndicalism

Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT)

where was anarcho-syndicalism popular in Spain?

industrial areas like Barcelona and Catalonia

How did anarchism differ in rural areas?

anarchism focused on land redistribution, decentralized authority, and freedom from taxes, seeking revolution through spontaneous action

What role did left-wing ideologies play in Spanish politics before the Civil War?

left-wing ideologies were divided and often in conflict with each other

Who was part of the right wing?

• church

• conservative landowners

• army

Who was part of the left wing?

• Anarchists

• Marxists

• Stalinists

• Trotskyites

Short term causes

• fall of the monarchy 1931

• Reforms of Manuel Azaña

• General Sanjurjo’s rebellion (1932)

• Asturian Miners' Revolt (1934)

• Popular Front (1936)

• Generals’ Military Uprising (July 1936)

What led to the fall of Alfonso XIII in 1931?

• Popular support for the monarchy eroded

• the army withdrew support for Alfonso XIII, who went into exile

Manuel Azaña

leader of coalition of centre left parties in June 1931, after withdrawal of monarchy

What were some of the reforms implemented by Manuel Azaña’s government in the Second Republic?

• agricultural, labor, and anticlerical reforms

• tenant protections

• encouragement of collectives,

• the separation of church and state

• civil marriages and divorces

• forced retirement of many military officers.

Why did Azaña’s reforms alienate both the left and right?

• The extreme left felt the reforms did not go far enough

• the conservative right was furious, leading to widespread dissatisfaction

• reforms did not help majority of the population, contributed to widespread poverty of rural Spain

What was General Sanjurjo’s role in the opposition to Azaña's government?

civil guard under leadership of Sanjurjo, led a rebellion in August 1932 against Azaña

What event in 1934 demonstrated the limits of the Republic’s control?

The Asturian miners' revolt in 1934, which was crushed by Spanish troops, revealed deep opposition to the government from both the radical left and the conservative right

What events revealed the distrust of the democracy?

• revolts and rebellions of the left against the right-wing government of 1933

• the left wanted to avoid the fate of German Nazism

• the left had abandoned constitution could not be trusted to govern

Popular front

A political strategy of electoral cooperation between left wing parties designed to prevent vote splitting and thus defeat right-wing parties

second republic

the system of government that governed Spain from the abdication of Alfonso XIII in 1931 until the end of the Spanish civil war

Spanish elections 1936, which parties were participating

popular front vs CEDA

Left wing parties

• Anarcho-Syndicalist Union (CNT)

• Militant Anarchists (FAI)

• Spanish communist party (PCE)

• Marxist-Socialist workers party (PSOE)

• Socialist trade union (UGT)

• Catalonian socialist party (PSUC)

CNT

Anarcho-Syndicalist Union

FAI

Militant Anarchists

PCE

Spanish Communist party

PSOE

• Marxist-Socialist party

UGT

Socialist trade union

PSUC

Catalonian socialist party

Who won the spanish elections of 1936?

popular front

What was the reactrion of the right to the result of the Spanish election 1936?

Gil Robles, leader of CEDA raised the alarm of an impending communist takeover even though there were no Marxists on the cabinet

How did Azana respond to threats of military takeover

• separated and isolated military leadership

What event on 13th July 1936 acted as a catalyst for the military insurrection?

The assassination of right-wing monarchist politician Calvo Sotelo on July 13, 1936, provided the pretext for the generals’ military insurrection.

Calvo Sotelo

right wing monarchist politician

What difficulties did right-wing face in rebellion 1936

• Despite planning insurrection did not go smoothly as the garrison in Morocco rose ahead of schedule and had to wait for Franco before proceeding further

What mistakes did left-wing government make in responding to revolt in 1936

• The Republic was slow to act and failed to crush the rebellion in its infancy

• hesitation in arming of UGT and CNT

• other left-wing groups had enough manpower but not enough firepower to resist rebellion

• divisions of the left-wing parties

What role did local militias and non-governmental organizations play in the Republic's defense?

In areas like Barcelona, local militias such as the anarcho-syndicalist CNT, with the help of loyal Civil Guards, helped defeat the rebels, maintaining the city as a Republican stronghold

How did arming militias impact the effectiveness of the Republican side during the Civil War?

Arming militias fragmented the Republic’s forces, creating internal divisions among different political factions, which weakened their overall fighting effectiveness