Analyse the causes of the Spanish Civil War

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Analyse the causes of the Spanish Civil War

This essay will focus on the causes that led to the Spanish Civil war, concentrating on the political, social and economic problems. There will both be long and short term causes which created tensions that intensified over time. In the 19th century, Spain had struggled between periods of conservation and liberalism. There were many reasons that caused division and instability before and during the 1930's.

        

To begin with, the long-term causes all added up to each other to create the outbreak of the civil war. Politically, the fact that from 1871, Spain had been a constitutional monarchy meant that it was democratically ruled even though the Cortes was elected by male population. The real power was actually held by the wealthy oligarchs; the two main parties out of these were very similar and the elections were corrupted. Consequently, people were 'invited' to oppose the system without excluding violence.

        

Spain, once rich and powerful, had been in decline for centuries as it was a rural and pre-industrial country, and underdeveloped compared to the other major countries. They were experiencing growth in power and wealth. Ironically, the reason for its decline was actually too much wealth. This was because it allowed the country to buy rather than produce up until 1898, where during the Spanish-American war, Spain not only lost its importance but its American Empire and the Philippines. In fact, after having lost the main source of income, Spain was not immediately prepared to produce and export for itself as it was mainly rural. The economic power as well as the social position with the nearby countries declined.

        

The living standards of the agricultural workers were the key factor which led to a general discontent in the civil war. Spain's main source of employment, agriculture, was inefficient. It did not provide enough food and work; people had to migrate in search for a job and the gap between the rich and poor was immense. In the countryside rioting often broke out and no help from the Civil Guard was present. The Church also gave no support, making people look up to some groups, such as the anarchists. These argued for the redistribution of the land. Yet, many of the Catholic small landowners were conservative, and were exploited by the Catholic Agrarian Federation which provided support to Franco during the war. Industrially, there was also a need for change; modernization and reforms were vital. There had always been little Spanish industrialization in the 19th century. Workers in towns faced low wages, long hours and unregulated working conditions, poor housing and limited provision of health and welfare. This situation led to the growth of trade unionism, but these competed with each other and failed to achieve anything reasonable. The workers' political parties had no real power with no legal means of improving their situation. After WW1 Spain faced inflation and shortages, the living standards of the working class went down, there were also many violent conflicts between employers and employees, particularly in industrial cities.

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Political issues also rose in Spain, there were a number of groups which opposed the political status in the country. All the political groups had different ideas which led to the violent conflict in 1936. The liberal movement in Spain had achieved very little in opposing conservative forces. Although they still remained a political force and supported the revolution against the King in 1931. The PSOE (Partido Docialista Obrero Español) had a limited impact, whereas the UGT was more successful in organizing strikes and protests. The socialists and the liberals were important during the revolution of 1931, although these ...

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