Spanish Civil War Causes, IB Curriculum

PSOE

Partido Socialista Obrero Español - Socialist party, workers rights, land reform, etc.
popular with industrial workers in the cities and intelligentia

CEDA

Confederación Española de Derechas Autónomas - Founded by Gil Robles, conservative Catholic party, restoration of church power,

popular with landowners and catholic rural peasantry

FAI

Federación Anarquista Ibérica, anarchist party and terrorist group, land reform, workers councils
Popular with urban industrial workers and intelligentia

Africanistas

The most nationalist and well-trained part of the Spanish army, the veterans of the Moroccan war

UGT

Unión General de Trabajadores - Socialist trade union, close to the PSOE

CNT

Confederación Nacional del Trabajo - Anarchist trade union, close with the FAI

Caciquismo

Term describing the Spanish constitutional monarchy pre-1931. Power was held by influential local bosses, industrialists, and landlords, who rigged the elections and stopped reform. The Liberal and Conservative parties contested elections, but which one was elected had no real impact on policy

Alfonso XIII

King of Spain 1886-1931, conservative with no ambition of reform or modernisation, still granted Catalonia some autonomy in 1913.

Falange

Far-right fascist organisation, founded in 1933 by José Antonio Primo de Rivera and others

Miguel Primo de Rivera

Dictator of Spain 1923-1930, former general, monarchist. Tried to compromise with all groups and grant limited reforms to pacify socialists, but ultimately no group was satisfied, and the Great depression caused his dictatorship to fall

Catalonia

Region in the Northeast of Spain, with a large industrial base incl. coal, textiles, and iron, different language, powerful independence/nationalist movement, but also many socialists

Basque Country

Region in the central north of Spain, near the border to France. Strong industrial base incl. shipbuilding, own language, and powerful local nationalist movement. Less socialist than Catalonia.

Why did the population largely disapprove of the military before 1931?

• Huge military, very expensive and required taxes

• Outdated, military built for an empire now serving a much smaller state

• Conservative, often intervened in Spanish politics (1820, 1871, 1874, 1923)

• The officer corps was dominated by the upper and “middle” class

• Ineffective, had lost the imperial holdings in South America, then the remaining colonies in 1898, and finally suffered embarassment in Morocco

• Was very brutal and repressive

PCE

Partido Comunista de España - Communist party, split from PSOE due to ties to the USSR. Popular with industrial workers and intelligentia

What was the 1923 Pronunciamiento?

General Miguel Primo de Rivera (Previous military governor of Barcelona) declared a type of coup, and formed a military government to save the king following the Annual disaster

Battle of Annual

battle in 1921 during the war in Morocco, Spanish troops were embarassed as 10000 were killed against a numerically and technologically inferior Moroccan tribal army

Situation in the Spanish countryside

The agriculture was inefficient and seasonal, so many farmers had to travel during certain parts of the year to find other work. The food was barely enough for the Spanish population, and when Spain sold food for higher prices during WW1, this problem got worse

Primo de Rivera successes

• Solving some social problems, support from the PSOE and UGT

• infrastructure and industry

• ending the war in Morocco

• 2000 new schools and modernisation of education

• Recognition of Catholic universities

• Cheap housing and maternity benefits for women

Primo de Rivera failures

• Debt

• Losing support of the conservatives

• Unable to reform taxation

• 1928 landowners resisted wage controls

• Value of the peseta fell

• No land reform

Left republic

1931-1933, following the end of Primo de Rivera’s rule, the centre-left formed a coalition, won the elections, and the king went into exile, Manuel Azaña became PM.

Carlists

Alternative Spanish monarchist movement, supporting a claim to the Spanish throne by the descendants of Infante Carlos María Isidro, powerful movement involved in several civil wars

Azaña’s reforms + successes

• Separating church and state

• Limiting church power

• Legalised divorces and civil marriages

• Nationalisation of church property

• 7000 new schools, new university in Madrid

• Decrease army size through offering early retirement

• Land redistribution

• Loyal army (for now)

Azaña’s failures

• Army size was reduced, but the remaining officers were the most nationalist and conservative

• Long-lasting economic depression, taxation did not increase, and the government backed the industrialists

• Land reform had limited impact as they could not afford it, but still angered the right

• There were several uprisings against the reforms

• During the Casas Viejas uprising, assault guards accidentally killed 25 people when trying to smoke out anarchists, led to Azaña resigning

The Right Republic

1933-1936, right-wing government, dominated by CEDA, essentially dedicated all time to undoing Azaña’s reforms, suspended Catalan autonomy

Fall of the Right

1935 Right-wing PM resigned because of a financial scandal, at this point the centre and left had allied against the right, and economic and political issues simply continued worsening

Popular front

1936 coalition of centrists, liberals, and leftists, winning the election, aimed to restore Azaña’s reforms (Azaña was yet again in charge), but the government legitimized violence by peasantry who were violently seizing land in the countryside, polarising the country again.