Causes of the Spanish civil war.

Spanish Civil War

“The main causes of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) were the slim victory of the Popular Front in the February 1936 elections and the political murders of socialist Jose Castillo and parliamentary member Jose Calvo Stoleto.”

The main causes of the Spanish Civil War were, on the obvious level, the shortcomings of the Nationalist party in the 1936 elections as they lost to the Popular Front by a close margin and the assassinations of a political figurehead as well as a police officer. Beyond the straight forward answers to the causes of the Spanish Civil War there were a some ‘deeper’ and more complex causes in this major 20th Century conflict. The first cause was that of the grip of the Monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church on the people of Spain. Another cause was the ideological differences inside the country as it was evenly split between the leftist and rightist ideologies. The Nationalist were a fascist party and the Republicans were on the socialist side of the war in Spain. These more complex causes were as much a part of the start of the war than the others because of the instability that they caused.

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The Roman Catholic Church and the Monarchy were at the time and had been in control of Spain for centuries. The Monarchy believed that God chose the rules of the Spanish Kingdom; this created a close bond between the clergy of the church and the rulers. Soon what started as a necessity as the rulers to be blessed by the clergy became a sort of ‘I help you and you help me’ relationship. The clergy and nobility became an immovable object in the way of the Spanish citizens. This bond began cracking under the pressure and when Queen Isabel allowed for the people to gain more freedom. She was an idealist and honestly believed that the people were able and capable of making their own decisions. This monarch was a blessing to the people of Spain but created a hope in them that made the nationalists cringe. The once ‘strong’ and immovable monarchy was now proposing to allow the common person to assist in making decisions for the nation of Spain. The idea that people should have rights and be able to choose set a new tone in Spain. The people wanted more power and the monarchy was there to give it to them.

Another cause of this war was the differences in ideologies inside the country. The Nationalist were the fascist in this war and believed in reinstating the power of the Spanish monarchy as well as the church. They also wanted to go back to the Spanish ‘old ways’ of living life for the monarchy. The Nationalists were all about pride, order and respect; the framework of a fascist movement. They, led by Francisco Franco, attempted a coup-de-tá against the Republicans, who were the socialist movement in Spain. They fought from 1936 to 1939 and throughout the war the fight was close. This was due to the fact that the country was divided so evenly.

Though many attribute the start of the Spanish Civil War to political assassinations and party victories there were in actuality deeper and more complex issues that made this unstable situation worse. These causes were the newfound freedom the Spanish people felt from the monarchy and church and the differences between the Republicans and the Nationalist movements. In both of these cases virtually the entire nation was for one side so everyone had an opinion which led to Franco starting a movement and a war.

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