However, the new republic immediately faced a number of major problems. The first was the issue of the highly influential Roman Catholic Church that opposed the republic, though the republic needed its support, as the clergy was still a major source of power in Spain. The new constitution declared that Spain had no official religion and had freedom of worship. This meant that the support of clergy was ceased. One would think that the government had provoked the Church enough. Matters did not stop there. Not only did the government nationalize church property, but it abolished the Concordat with Rome. This is the agreement set between the papacy and the country. The Church was extremely provoked and any devout Spanish Catholic. Expectedly, in October 1931 two Catholic ministers resigned. This was a great loss. The Radical Party also left the government. This resulted to a government which was mainly composed of Left republicans. This meant that the government was unbalanced and the majority of the Spanish people were not pleased with this assortment.
Another problem that led to the civil war was that the army had to be reformed as well, and the economic reforms had to be tackled. Iron production fell by 33% and the steel by 50% and hence unemployment rose and the workers were disillusioned. This shows that the republic basically brought back many of the problems Spain faced during its monarchy: the poverty, the falling industrial production and the unfair conditions workers and peasants had to deal with. The government tried to carry out some reforms which were partially successful, but there was trouble within the government. The wishes of the left alarmed those on the right and vice versa. Political infighting was in danger of pushing Spain into social revolution. In The Spanish Civil War, Hugh Purcell comments that 'the main reasons for the outbreak of Civil War were the irreconcilable quarrels among the Spanish people over three issues: the Church, the land, and regional self-rule.'[2] Once more we see repetition in the problems the two governments face as it is once more divided. Decision making and unanimous agreements prove to be difficult yet again and it does not seem possible for an effective policy to be put forth.
In addition, another problem that resulted to the civil war was that the government tried to attack civilians thought to have too many privileges in society. But by doing this it angered all those sectors in society that had the potential to fight back - the military, large landowners (or latifundistas), industrialists and the Roman Catholic Church. These four potentially powerful groups were unwilling to support the republican government in Madrid. It is well known that there were countries in Europe that would be willing to give support to their predicament as many nations in Europe were scared of communism and Stalin's Russia. Fascist Italy under Mussolini would be an obvious ally, as would Germany once Hitler had got power in January 1933. These were all vital, long-term political contributions to the collapse of Spain.
An event contributing to the civil war's eruption took place in January 1932. The Prime Minister at the time, Manuel Azana, led an Anarchist uprising in Catalonia. It can be said that the goal of this uprising, which was to achieve a greater status of Autonomy, was successful. In fact, the principle of regional autonomy was put into the new constitution. Of course this is not in any way a solution or a way out of the mess. If anything, the uprising and its results further divided the government and the people of Spain. Those who supported the Right, which were mainly Army officers, believed that this was the dismemberment of Spain. It was clear that the army, for now, was loyal to the government. As for the Basque region, which mostly encompassed monarchists, it became more republican to achieve more autonomy. However, even by 1933 the Basque could not have autonomy. Then, in 1933, a new political party was formed which was called CEDA, Confederacion Espanola de Derechas Autonomas (Spanish Confederation of Autonomous Right-wing Parties). This was a right-wing party dedicated to protecting the authority of the Roman Catholic Church and landlords and exposed the failings of the republic.
The CEDA also proved to be a factor that increased political tension, as if any more was needed. It was lead by Gil Robles, who was certainly no supporter of democracy, declaring in 1933 that 'We are going to parliament to defend our ideals; but if tomorrow parliament is against our ideals, we shall go against parliament.'[4] Eddie May believes that it was Robles, a strong admirer of Hitler's Nazi party, who created the necessary conditions for the unity of the Spanish elite.[5] Paul Preston shares this view: 'Gil Robles played an active and indeed crucial role, in Parliament and Press, in creating the atmosphere which made a military rising appear to the middle classes as the only alternative to catastrophe.'[6] This is only logical, seeing how the CEDA then played an important part in directing the people's views towards certain goals. It is essential to keep in mind the clear fact that Spain did not in any way need any more organizations or parties affecting its government. At this point it was clear that the problem was not the government's incompetence as there was no definite government to be classified in that sense. It was simply the failure of a united government with straightforward views and policies to run the country with.
The loss of support for Azana's government (the Popular Front) was a further push for the civil war. In September 1933, following the set up of CEDA, Azana resigns due to his defeat in the elections. The Popular Front failed drastically that it lost any support from either the Right or the Left. Two powerful left wing political parties, the anarchists and syndicalists (powerful trade union groups), felt that Azana's government was too conventional. Both wanted a more communistic state and the defeat of capitalism. Above all, Azana was despised for forming a political union with the middle ground in Spain's political life. It can be said that he had brought this to himself as he is considered to have betrayed the working class by having their expectations raised to unrealistic levels. Their disappointment is so large as the extreme left organised strikes and riots in an effort to destabilise the government of Azana.
Matters became worse when in January 1933. 25 people were killed by government troops who were attempting to capture some anarchists near Cadiz. This lost the government even more support from the working class and the socialists withdrew their support from the government. That isn’t much of a surprised. The government had frustrated their already disappointed citizens by actually causing deaths of individuals. This meant that the people could not trust the government and also encouraged them to support the "victimized" parties. Azana resigned as prime minister and elections were called for November 1933. [7]
The reforms brought by the new right wing government angered many. It immediately over-turned all of the changes brought in by the Azana government. This enraged many but especially the Catalans who had their privileges withdrawn. This was a serious error of judgement as the Catalans and Basques had supported the government in the elections. The way forward for Robles became clear to many - an attack on the left wing parties of Spain. It forced the many parties of the left to come together to form the Popular Front. They organised strikes, riots and took part in acts of violence such as derailing main line trains. In 1934 there was a general strike, coal miners in the Asturias went on strike but were ruthlessly put down by the army lead by General Franco. It appears that Spain was heading for all out anarchy. It also appears that General Franco was competent enough to seemingly effortlessly put down such riots which the government, and the previous ones themselves could not do.
The general elections of February 1936 did not solve anything. It was really done in a last minute attempt to avoid a serious crisis. In this election, the Popular Front won and Azana, once again became prime minister. This alone was yet another major short-term cause for the civil war. Rather than solving any of the problems, it only reintroduced previous problems. The government of the Popular Front was a mockery after the socialists withdrew their support from it, and more and more public disturbances occurred as the government had clearly lost control of Spain once again.
Historian Shlomo Ben-Ami dismisses the simplistic view of some historians that, due to this divide, the break down of Spanish democracy was inevitable. He argues that 'The Republic's failure was not irreversibly conditioned. It was caused by policies, some obviously bad and highly inadequate, and the reaction to them.' [3] This would suggest that despite the long-term conflict and polarisation within Spain, the ultimate blame lies with those involved in Spanish politics between 1931-1936.
One could say that there were too many factors involved to say what the chief causes of the Spanish Civil War were. However, in my opinion, I believe that there were only a few key events that can be divided into short-term and long-term causes. The war was an outcome of a polarisation of Spanish life and politics that had developed over previous decades, and due to the long period of decline of the Spanish Empire and belated economic development, this is a long-term cause. The short-term causes were the events of the Second Republic between 1931 and 1936. Many peoples' expectations were raised too highly, knowing that, in practice, there was an impossibility in reconciling such widely conflicting interests with the extreme wealth versus extreme poverty. Politically, their differences often found severe and intense expression in parties such as the Fascist-oriented Falange and the militant left-wing anarchists. Between these extremes were other groups covering the political spectrum from monarchism and conservatism through liberalism to Socialism, including a small Communist movement divided among followers of the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and his archrival Leon Trotsky. Therefore, I do not think I can solidly identify the chief causes, but merely select some of the main events which contributed to the cause of the Spanish Civil War.
As for the results of the war, there were several impacts for Spain, Europe and some international impacts. First of all, due to all the political changes, Spain had become a fascist country. It was now ruled by General Franco, a military dictator, up until his death in 1975. To get there, General Franco basically kept starting the fights and rebels and constantly attempted to overthrow the government until they were forced to give in and let him win. Also, a lot of this is due to the help he had received from Germany's Hitler and Italy's Mussolini. Some would argue that Spain under his rule was not generally considered to be fascist. Among the distinctions, fascism entails a revolutionary aim to transform society, whereas Franco and Franco's Spain did not seek to do so. On the contrary, although authoritarian, Franco led a conservative and traditional Spain. Stanley Payne, the preeminent scholar on fascism and Spain notes: "scarcely any of the serious historians and analysts of Franco consider the generalissimo to be a core fascist." All in all, Franco's regime showed a frontal rejection of Communism, Socialism and Anarchism, three ideologies that were widespread in Spain with generous support from abroad, especially from the Soviet Union.
Another result of the War is that, as part of the nationalist victory, there were many reprisals and atrocities against those who fought for the republic. In fact, after the war, Republicans were at times prosecuted by the victorious Nationalists. This was mainly the mistake of the Republican government. Their actions slowly coagulated the different people on the right: monarchists, strong Church supporters, moderate and radical traditionalists, conservatives and nationalists, and even newly emerged fascists. In Barcelona, anarchists armed themselves and defeated the rebels. However, the turmoil facilitated anarchist control over Barcelona and much of the surrounding Aragonese and Catalan countryside effectively broke away from the Republican government. Despite the general scholarly view that the 1931 Constitution and the subsequent Republican legislation contributed to the onset of tension that eventually led to the Spanish Civil War, the proponents of the 1931 constitution see the aspects related to the church as small compared to the enormous hopes that the Second Republic in 1931 brought for Spanish workers, peasants, and women
It seems that, as a result of the Civil War, the role of the Catholic Church was highlighted and strongly identified with the Franco regime. Unlike other prominent rebels like José Anotonio Primo de Rivera, Franco lacked any consistent political ideology other than fierce anti-communism. He initially sought support from what he designated as National syndicalism (nacionalsindicalismo) and the Roman Catholic Church. He ruled under the sense that Spanish nationalism must ineluctably be Catholic or it would not be Spanish. Despite the cautious tone of Franco's address on assuming the powers of head of state on October 1, this tendency toward absolute identification of the Nationalist cause with the church soon became even more accentuated. France had been raised as a devout Catholic. He said "I am responsible only to God and history." However, the Spanish Roman Catholic church had changed deeply by the last years of the Franco regime and could not be counted as supporting it anymore.
There were also some long-term results to the Spanish Civil War. After the Second World War, the Iberian Peninsula continued to differ politically from the rest of Europe. The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar and a very small area of France. Dr. Salazar was dictator of Portugal while Franco ruled Spain. He ruled Portugal for almost 40 years, managing to keep Portugal away from the Second World War and preventing also a Spanish invasion by keeping friends on both sides. He was often called a fascist by his opponents, something he had in common with Franco. This would explain how he managed to avoid the Spanish invasion.
It seemed that Franco's 35-year dictatorship saw Spain isolated by economic blockades, excluded from NATO and the UN and crippled by economic recession. It wasn't until the early 1950s, when the rise in tourism and a treaty with the USA combined to provide much-needed funds that the country began to recover. Of course, as the Cold War continued, the reason behind USA's support for Spain was because it saw it as a valuable ally against communism. By the 1970s, Spain had the fastest growing economy in Europe.
Finally, although not much of a direct result of the Spanish Civil War as it is an "aftermath" event, Spain is now a democratic constitutional monarchy within the European Union. Franco died in 1975, having earlier named Juan Carlos, the grandson of Alfonso XIII, his successor. With Juan Carlos on the throne, Spain made the transition from dictatorship to democracy. The first elections were held in 1977, a new constitution was drafted in 1978, and a failed military coup in 1981 was seen as a futile attempt to turn back the clock. In 1982 Spain made a final break with the past by voting in a socialist government with a sizeable majority. The only major blemish on the domestic front since was the terrorist campaign waged by separatist militant group ETA in its bid for an independent Basque homeland. During 30 years of terrorist activity, ETA killed over 800 people.
As for the international results, there were many. First of all, international communism and the concept of the Popular Front were defeated. The Popular Front was defeated by General Franco in early 1939 and continued to rule Spain as a dictatorship until he died in 1975. It also seemed that Fascism was an unstoppable Force, killing anyone that came their way, covering up massacres like the Nazi bombing of Guernica. The Spanish Fascists covered it up and until the 1970s claimed there had been no such bombings, or that if there had, it must have been Republicans bombing themselves. The historical evidence is, however, found by Preston and Thomas in their authoritative studies to be incontrovertible. Instead of the Second Republic being an irregular period of democratic experiment, it seemed as though the long Franco regime was now the anomaly, separating two devolutionary democracies.
Another international result of the Spanish Civil War would be the fact that there was distraction from Germany which as a result helped Adolf Hitler in his rise to power. Spain was a neutral country in World War Two. Hitler wanted Spain to enter the war but Franco would not. Hitler also requested that German troops be allowed to enter Spain and occupy Gibraltar, but Franco refused and did not give permission. This was because Franco believed that Germany would lose the war. Therefore it can be said that all this was a long term British victory.
Another result in the World War Two would be the war's effect on the publicity of Stalin and Hitler's secret relationship. This secret relationship would become public when the two sides signed the Non-Aggression Pact on August 23, 1939, but until that time, Hitler and Stalin made much of their putative opposition to one another. The Spanish Civil War provided them with a proxy battleground, as Germany and Italy tried out new armaments in support of the Nationalists, led by Francisco Franco. The Republican side turned to Stalin for help, but he gave them little assistance while siphoning resources and leaders, some of whom went to Moscow and never returned.
Also, seeing that there was international intervention, Italian and German troops gained military experience. The British Labor Party under Clement Attlee became even more anti- Communist and anti- Soviet, partly as a result of the Spanish Civil War. And finally, the actual use of aircraft and the high number of casualties in the Spanish Civil War was a preliminary indication of the high cost of World War Two.
Three years of bloodshed, hundreds of thousands of executions, a battle after another all concluded the Spanish Civil War. It would be safe to say that the main cause of the Spanish Civil War would be the poor management of the Spanish government. No matter who was in control, whether by force or the people's choice, there always seemed to be problems and basically incompetence. In retrospect, it sometimes became difficult to remember why the Spanish Civil War had been fought at all. Francoists had assumed for decades after the war that Spain would remain what they had made it – Catholic, authoritarian, nationalist and centralist. They suddenly found themselves living in a society full of features they had sought to eradicate. It was now pluralist, tolerant, federal and multilingual. Militarism disappeared.
Bibliography
[1] Preston, Paul (1996) The Concise History of the Spanish Civil War p.9-23. Fontana Press.
[2] Hugh Purcell, The Spanish Civil War, Wayland Publishers, 1973, p.19
[3] Shlomo Ben-Ami, The Republican Take-over in Revolution and War in Spain, 1931-39, ed. Paul Preston, Methuen, 1984, p.29
[4] Quoted in Eddie May, (1999) Origins of the Spanish Civil War, Modern History Review
[5] Eddie May, (1999) Origins of the Spanish Civil War, Modern History Review
[6] Paul Preston, (1978) The Coming of the Spanish Civil War, Methuen, p.239
[7] Ellwood, Sheelagh (1991) The Spanish Civil War p.17. Blackwell Publishing LTD
JAN PALMOWSKI. "." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 4 Apr. 2009 <>.
Lillywhite, John, Spanish Civil War notes, January 2009