Causes of the Spanish Civil War

long term causes → failing political system

• struggling to modernise

• 1875 → 1923: constitutional monarchy under Alfonso XII and XIII

• power held by rich land owners and electoral system was rigged

• universal male suffrage in 1887 but made no differences

• 1879: socialist party founded, supported by industrial working class

• early 1920s: communist party founded as breakaway from socialists

long term causes → social divisions

• Catholic Church has a monopoly on education → many middle classes were anti-clerical

• 1930: 46% of population still in agriculture

• 60% of land owned by 6%

• Catalonian and Basque regions were prosperous and wanted independence, had been independent medieval states

• 1909: tragic week riots in Barcelona over reservists being called up for Moroccan war → 200 people killed by police and army

• 1918 → 21: over 1,000 people killed by police and army in riots and strikes etc.

Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera

• 1923 → 30

• monarchy was undermined by military disaster in 1921→ 12,000 troops killed at Annual, Morocco

• 1927: had some successes subduing ruffian forces in Morocco thanks to French help from 1925 agreement

• 1923 → 1929: short term economic successes aided by world trade upturn

• ended with the Great Depression which heavily impacted South America

• borrowed heavily to support infrastructure schemes

• 1903: due to lacking support he resigned

• General Berenguer was old, ill, and indecisive and further undermined the regime

Second Republic

• April 1931

• municipal elections turned monarchy referendum resulted in King Alfonso VIII abdicating

Oscillation of politics from left to right

• 1931 → 36

• Left government 1931 → 33: introduced Catalonian independence

• 1933 elections: Socialists won 58 seats down from 117

• Right Government 1933 → 36: undid all socialist reforms

• 1936 elections: popular front won 280/470 seats, CEDA won 87 down from 115

• disunity had proven fatal to the right

Short term causes → weakness of the popular front government

• series of weak cabinets

• socialists refused to be in government

• several parties on the left became increasingly radicalised

• as did the right