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Causes of the Spanish Civil War - Coggle Diagram
Causes of the Spanish Civil War
Long-term causes
Rise of the Left
Marxism and Socialism emerge in Europe (however, it was seen unlikely that Spain would have a large revolutionary movement due to its underdeveloped capitalist economy and little organised labour
Rise of anarchism ever since the 19th century
Strike in Alcoy in 1837, which anarchists took advantage of and spread anarchist ideas, was shut down by the police and the anarchists went underground, doing individual acts of terrorism in 1880s and 90s
Anarcho-syndicalism
Theory that the state could be challenged by cooperative action by the workers in strikes
The Federation of Workers' Societes of the Spanish Region
formed in 1900
A Spanish anarchist organisation which organised strikes to exercise political power, which were suppressed
The Confederation Nacional del Trabajo
or CNT, the National Confederation of Labour
Confederation of Anarcho-syndicalist labour unions, which allied with the
the Union General de Trabajadores
A general strike in 1917, troops were rushed to cities and CNT was banned
Separatism
1469, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile married, but the two kingdoms never quite merged
Addition of Andalucia from the Moors and Navarre from France also added territories with different traditions
Catalan separatism and resistment to the accession of the Bourbon Dynasty
The War of the Spanish Succession in the 18th cenutry, where the Catalan separatists were resisting the Bourbons
Catalan separatism subjugated to the Philip V of Bourbon in 1714, who abolished the Catalan constitution and autonomy
Catalan separatism re-emerged in the 19th century, and Catalan nationalists gave their support to the Carlists
Carlist Civil Wars 1833-76, where the ultra-conservative nationalists Carlists fought against the liberals for the throne
The Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya
The Republican Left coalition party in Catalonia who won municipal elections in 1931, and its leader proclaimed Catalan a Republic
After compromises, 1932 self-government for Catalonia became law
Independent Catalonia, radical land reform and industrial and social unrest in Barcelona -> national unity became one of the rallying cries of the nationalist rebels
Primo De Rivera and his dictatorship 1923-30
An army general, who organised a coup with the military in 1923 in Morocco, with the backing of the King Alfonso, against the parliamentary government of Marquis Manuel García Prieto
The constitution was suspended and the general's own party,
the Spanish Patriotic Union
was the only one permitted
Rivera banned anarchism 1923-30
Radical Federacion Anarquista Iberica
, or
FAI, Spanish Anarchist Federation
was formed in 1927, and its membership rose rapidly later on; a militant group with organised bank robberies and assassinations
By 1930, the growing opposition to Rivera's conservative and right-wing government led to him resigning, and he was followed by General Berenguer and then Admiral Aznar, before Spain returned to constitutional rule and the
Second Republic
was established
Supported by Rivera, the Church aligned itself with landowners and the army, and agrarian organisations were formed to combat anarchism in the countryside
The Republican government
Quickly announced anti-military measures
Military judicial tribunals no longer had authority over civilians
Army was to swear an oath of loyalty to the Republic rather than being a separate state and outside its control
The length of the military service was reduced to a year
The size of the army was reduced
The Zaragoza military academy was closed
Military failures in Morocco were inquired and officers put to trial
Africanistas
Spain won the right to control norther Morocco in 1906, which led to a full-scale rebellion against Spain by the Moroccan people
In 1921, Spanish suffered a humiliating defeat in Morocco, which led to the formation of a new and reformed Spanish African Army (Africanistas, career officers in Spain who were the 'storm trooper' colonial force) scorning the civilian government and using brutal methods to suppress the Moroccan opposition
Opposed to the reforms of the new Republic, and by 1936 it was largely the Africanistas who where spearheading the revolt, and by then they had support from landowners, industrialists, Catholic traditionalists and opponents of separatism
The Africanistas were infuriated by the reforms initiated by Azada, who promoted Junteros and hold enquiries into the mismanagement of the Moroccan campaign
The Africanistan general Sanjuro attempted a coup in 1932
Left-wing rising in the region of Asturias in October 1934 led to conservative republicans turn to the Africanistas to suppress them, and encouraged by the martial law and elimination of leftist oppositions, the Africanistas began to plot
Foreign Legion, "Bridegrooms of Death"
Led by Fransisco Franco, nationalists who saw themselves as Spain's saviours
Aimed to suppress deadly theats from communists, anarchists, freemasons and opponents of Catholic Church
Juntas Militares (military councils)
Formed during WW1 by conventional officers
The Juntares took a leading role in crushing left-wing revolts
Short-term causes
Religious discontent
Because of the Republican reforms, the Church lost control of divorce and marriage, ecclesiastical orders were barred, religious symbols were removed from public buildings, the Church lost its subsidy from the state and its property and assets had to be declared and were liable to taxation
Entwining of religious and political divisions
Anti-clericalism had been growing, and for example in Madrid 50 convents were attacked
The presence of socialism in the government was tantamount to a godless attack on the Church
The Confederacion Espanola de Derechas Autonomas
or
CEDA, Spanish confederation of Independent Rights
, which was a massive political movement to protect Catholic interests
Coalition between moderate radicals and the CEDA ministers, led by Jose Maria Gil Robles in 1934
The left was angered, because they thought that the extreme right-wing ministers in a government could subvert and constitute from within
Bienio Negro
, 'Two Black Years': the new right-wing government proceeded to undo most of the reforms passed from 1931 to 1933, using the police and the army to repress any sign of opposition
The Popular Front
Reunification of the left and the radicals
Election victory in 1936, ending hopes for Catholic political influence
The Popular Front appeared to be linked to international communism and on the influence of the USSR
USSR gave approval to alliances between communists and other left-wing groups, from extreme anarchists to the moderate reforming liberals, to enable them to gain office
Fear of the anarchist revolution and concerns about the Popular Front, which provoked a right in right-wing extremism and the involvement of the army in the politics
Popular unrest in the countryside exploded into land seizures encouraged by radical anarchists, and it seemed there was little attempt from the Popular Front to moderate such behaviour
CNT conference in May 1936 was full of revolutionary language and it seemed that the new Republic had not been able to control the major revolutionary group
The murder of the former finance minister Jose Calvo Sutelo in 1936
After an exile, Sotelo returned home as a leading right-wing firure, but he clashed with the socialists and was murdered by left-wing members of the Civil Guard
Preparaitons for a coup begin, by Generals Sanjuro and Mola, the Foreign Legion and Fransisco Franco was also prompted to join as an influential right-wing leader
Political, ideological and economic causes
Ideology and poltiics
ONE SIDE:
Landowners, monarchists, the small Spanish Fascist Party, the Catholic Church, much of Castile and north and north-west Spain, i.e. militaristic, authoritarian, conservative, Catholic Spain, the admirers of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy
ONE SIDE:
Anarchists, the socialists, the republicans, Catalan separatists, landless labourers of the south, the small Spanish Communist Party and trade unions (like the UGT), i.e. the secular, reforming constitutional Spain who admired USSR and the Western democracy
Catalonia also didn't just fight for politics, but for regional freedom
Falange
A fascist movement in Spain which was founded by Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera
Ideology prompted intervention and Mediterranean was also of vital interest for many countries
USSR sent supplies, weapons and political advisers, Germany contributed air power, Italy sent large-scale ground force, Britain and France attempted non-intervention
Economic causes
Long-term rural unrest
Inequality in wealth and landholding
In the 19th century, a great deal of former royal and Church land had been sold and large estates exploited cheap labour from landless labourers
Land ownership concentrated on a small number of people
Due to inflation, wages were also kept low
By 1919, there were frequent episodes of rural unrest and violence, which heightened after the rise in socialism and anarchy as well as the establishment of the Republic in 1931
People wamted change and reform
Uprisings were suppressed and falling agricultural prices and exports led to wage cuts, and a rise in unemployment
Attempts at land reform were blocked by conservative parties
FNNT, National Federation of Land Workers
A socialist-led peasant workers' union, which went from 27 000 members to more than a million between 1930-32
Substantial numbers of anarchist collectives due to CNT growing influence were established in the south, but also in Aragon in the west and Castile
Unrest after 1931
Rural unrest
Agrarian reforms of the Republic reduced working hours, paid overtime, if workers were available in their municipality those must be used instead of cheaper labour, and all usable land on pain of their land had to be requisitioned and redistributed to the landless workers
However, the implementation of these reforms was slow and generated violent reaction from the disappointed Peasants, for example in Casas Viejas, a republican police shot 19 peasants
Alongside the agrarian reforms, there were reforms that restricted Catholic power, therefore Catholic farmers were attracted to
CNCA, National Confederation of Catholic Farmers
Additionally, a centre-right coalition reversed the agrarian reforms
When the Left reunited for the Popular Front, the prospects for rural change imporved again - however, this generated more fear among the Right and a military coup started to attract support
Unrest in the south grew, when the now autonomous Catalan government tried to redistribute land but was stopped by a right-wing reaction that ended the self-government in Catalonia
Industrial unrest
Even though the army was suppressing the CNT strikes, social unrest continued
Risings in Zaragoza in 1933 and a major disturbance in 1934 int he Asturias mining area in Spain
The communist, anarchists and workers cooperated, attacking police barracks and taking over much of the region
Colonial troops, Spanish Foreign Legion and its Moorish soldiers were sent to suppress the revolt with extreme brutality