Unit 5.

The Second Republic and the Spanish

Civil War
1. Spain: from
dictatorship
to democracy
The crisis during the
reign of Alfonso XIII

 Turno pacifico;
 Strikes and street
protests,
 War in Morocco,
 1921: Battle of Annual.
 The dictatorship of Primo de Rivera
► Coup d'etat led by Primo de Rivera, with the support of
the King;
► Domestic policy:
► Patriotic Union- official party,
► End terrorism and demonstrations,
► Guarantee nationalism;
► Foreign policy:
► Alhucemas (1925) increased it's prestige and ended
the War;
► Economic:
► Large public works,
► State monopolies (Telefonica, CAMPSA);
► Idea of a long-term dictatorship:
► Civil executive formed by military and civilians,
► Great effect of the Great Depression.
A dictatorship with
a monarch
 1929: Great opposition to the
government;
 Primo de Rivera resigned in
January 1930;
 Soft dictatorship: Alfonso
XIII appointed Damaso
Berenguer, and then Bautista
Aznar as prime minister;
 Pact of San Sebastian:
Republican and Socialist
statement for a republic;
 Anti-monarchist protest and
military uprising.
 The 1931
elections
 12 April 1931: municipal election;
 Seen as a referendum of the the
monarchy;
 Republican-Socialist coalition
wins in the cities;
 Alfonso goes into exile;
 14 April: proclamation of the II
Spanish Republic;
 Provisional government is formed:
o Niceto Alcala-Zamora,
o Constituent Cortes;
 Tensions continued to rise
(anarchists, conservatives and anti-
clericalism).
Source: https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.timetoast.com/public/uploads/photo/13677501/image/570172027569d446b821cfee7d1cbdb7
 2. The Constitution
of 1931
 New left-wing Republican coalition:
 New constitution based on progressive
principles:
o Democratic republic,

o Regional autonomy,

o Universal suffrage,

o Separation of powers (legislative for

the Cortes, executive for the
government),

o Secular state,

o Extensive rights and freedoms are

guaranteed;

 Great division between the coalition

and the more conservative parties.
 3. The reformist
biennium (1931-1933)

 President: Niceto Alcala-Zamora;

 Prime Minister: Manuel Azaña;
 Three first women in the Cortes: Victoria
Kent, Margarita Nelken, Clara Campoamor.
 Military reforms

► Main objective: reduce the

influence and interventionism of
the army;
► 1931 Retirement Law: aimed to
reduce the number of generals;
► Prioritise the level of
preparedness;
► Forced to swear an oath to the
republic:
► Closed the General Military
Academy in Zaragoza for
spreading anti-democratic
ideas;
► The africanistas saw this as an
Niceto Alcalá Zamora attack.
 Territorial
reforms
 Francesc Macia proclaimed the
Catalan Republic;
 Negotiated with the government:
Generalitat de Catalunya,
autonomous within the republic;
 Autonomous regions with statutes
based on historical, cultural
or economic ties:
o Cataluna: approved statute
by 1932;
o Basque Country: approved in
1936.
Francesc Macia
 Religious reforms

► Separation of church and state;

► No budget;
► Cemeteries and hospitals were
secularised;
► Civil marriage is approved;
► "Spain is no longer Catholic";
► Great hostility from the church
and the conservative groups.

Manuel Azaña Díaz

 Educational
reforms
 Generalised illiteracy: 85% in rural
areas and 30% of urban population;
 Unified, public, compulsory, secular
and mixed educational system:
o 10,000 schools built, 5,000
libraries,
o Free and compulsory primary
education,
o University granted academic
freedom;
 Misiones Pedagogicas were created in
order to expand culture;
 La Barraca: travelling theatre group
that brought Spanish classics to rural
areas.
Agrarian reforms
 Archaic and agricultural system
with high unemployment;
 Three main problems:
o Latifundia: dominated Andalucia,
Extremadura and La Mancha,
o Lack of mechanisation,
o Generalised poverty;
 1932: Agrarian Reform Law:
unexploited land can be expropiated
and redistributed, overseen by the
IRA;
 Wasn't succesful: budged shortages
and lawsuits.
 Problems during the
reformist biennium

 Great discontent among conservative

groups;
o 1932: failed coup d'etat led by
General Sanjurjo;

 Discontent among anarchists and

communists:
o Trade union protests;

 1933: Casas Viejas incident:

o Brutal repression by the government,
o Damaged Azana's policies,
o Alcala-Zamora announced general
election in November.
 6. Centre-right
biennium (1933-35)

► 1933 election:
► Republican-socialist
republic is broken,
► CNT called for abstention,
► Union of the Right: CEDA,
Falangists, Carlists and
monarchists,
► Conservative

Alejandro Lerroux, leader of the Radical Republican Party

 Centre-right
biennium (1933-36)

► Zamora names Lerroux as head

of government;
► CEDA´s support;
► Suspends all reforms;
► General strike in October 1934:
► PSOE and PCE, with UGT and
CNT;
► Asturias: social revolution led
by miners;
► Cataluña: political revolution
led by Lluis Companys;
► Intervention of the army:
Francisco Franco;
► Great tension: elections. José María Gil-Robles- CEDA's leader
 Centre-right biennium (1933-36)
► Zamora names Lerroux as head of
government;
► CEDA´s support;
► Suspends all reforms;
► General strike in October 1934:
► PSOE and PCE, with UGT and
CNT;
► Asturias: social revolution led by
miners;
► Cataluña: political revolution led by
Lluis Companys;
► Intervention of the army: Francisco
Franco;
► Great tension: elections.
October Revolution´s poster
 Popular Front (1936)

Popular Front (Socialists, Communists

and Republicans) win the elections;
Government:
Manuel Azaña: president;
Césares Quiroga: head of the government;
Agricultural reforms;
Cataluña is recovered;
Constant clashes: Falangists vs. radical left.

PCE poster in favour of Frente Popular

 The Spanish Civil
War (1936-39)

► July 17th 1936: anti-republican

rebellion in Morocco;
► July 18th: spreads to the
Peninsula;
► Objectives:
► End public disorder;
► Avoid a Communist
revolution;
► End the leftist reforms;
► End the Republic.
Franco´s coup d´Etat
Source: “Mientras dure la Guerra”, by Alejandro Amenábar
Source: “Mientras dure la Guerra”, by Alejandro Amenábar
Source: “Mientras dure la Guerra”, by Alejandro Amenábar
Falangist Anthem
Sides and international support
► Republicans (Azaña):
► Split authority (government and revolutionary groups;
► Loyal to the government,
► International support:
► USSR: advisers, planes, equipment,
► International Brigades: voluntary civilian anti-fascists
(35000 volunteers);

► Mexico: food and healthcare supplies;

► Nationalists (Franco: homo missus a Deo cui nomen
erat Franciscus: Caudillo de España por la Gracia de
Dios):
► Unified authority (FET y de las JONS);
► Germany, Italy: planes, equipment, troops,
► Portugal and Ireland: volunteers. Source:
 Sides and
international support
► Republicans (Azaña):

► Split authority (government and

revolutionary groups;
► Loyal to the government,
► International support:
► USSR: advisers, planes, equipment,
► International Brigades: voluntary
civilian anti-fascists (35000
volunteers);

► Mexico: food and healthcare

supplies;
► Nationalists (Franco: homo missus a Deo cui nomen
erat Franciscus: Caudillo de España por la Gracia
de Dios):

► Unified authority (FET y de las

JONS); Source: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/3e/22/b0/3e22b0c370c8246e710c363b9fc8c082.jpg
Development

► March to Madrid: Franco´s

defeat in Jarama and
Guadalajara;
► Northern campaign: take the
industrial area (País Vasco,
Asturias, Cantabria).
Bombing of Guernica;
► Battle of the Ebro: avoid
Franco´s advance to
Cataluña; victory in 1939;
► End of the war: April 1st,
1939.

April 1st, 1939: Victory day in Madrid

Source: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G-x72f7s3jY/T5P6iz_TrQI/AAAAAAAAAN0/Wy5l0VHTuGc/s640/mapa+guerra+civil.jpg
 6. The political
evolution of the
two sides
The Republican zone
 Government's support: part of the army, the
Basque and Catalan nationalists, middle classes,
peasants and workers;
 Disbanded the army and gave weapons to the
militias;
 The government was close to collapse;
 Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona set up
revolutionary committees:
o Collectivisation and persecution of opposers and
the Church;

 The army was regrouped by September 1936:

People's Army of the Republic;
 The communists rise to power led to conflicts,
specially in Barcelona (Jornadas de Mayo,
1937);
 1938: new government formed by Juan Negrin:
o Aimed to continue the war as long as possible;

 March 1939: Coup d'etat by Segismundo

Casado.
 The Nationalist zone

 United from the start:

o National Defence Board,
o 21 September: Franco is
named head of state,
o Falange and the Carlists are
united in one single party
(FET y de las JONS);
 January 1938: Franco forms his
first government:
o Fuero del Trabajo,
o Limited rights and freedoms
(strikes, censorship, etc.).
7. The characteristics and consequences of
the Spanish Civil War

 International level:
o Democrats remained neutral,
o Totalitarian regimes used Spain as a testing ground;

 Hunger and black market were common;

 Role of women differed on either side:
o Nationalists: domestic sphere,
o Republicans: joined militias;

 Great level of repression and violence (paseos, sacas):

o Republicans persecuted right-wing politicians, wealthy and
religious people (checas),
o Nationalist zone: persecuted political leaders and republican
intellectuals.
The consequences of the
war
 Demographic:
o 300,000-500,000 deaths,
o 300,000-500,000 went into exile;

 Economic:
o Destroyed transport and
infrastructure;

 Political:
o Almost 40 year long dictatorship;

 Social and cultural:

o Constant persecution and
repression towards republicans
and left-winged supporters.
Source: “Madre anoche en las trincheras”, Raquel Eugenio
8. Culture and art at the start of the 20th
century

 1898-1936: known as Spain's Silver Age (Generation of '98, '14 and '27;
 Institución Libre de Enseñanza:
o Junta de Ampliación de Estudios, led by Santiago Ramón y Cajal,
o Residencia de Estudiantes (García Lorca, Salvador Dalí, Luis Buñuel),
o Residencia de Señoritas (Clara Campoamor, María Zambrano),
o Lyceum Club Femenino (María Maeztu);
 Great cultural excitement, developing the Avant-Agarde movement;
 Patronato de Misiones Pedagogicas: allow people to get access to education;
 Magazines developed: Revista de Occidente, La Gaceta Literaria, Octubre.
 Art and
architecture
 The Republic allowed a great artistic
expression;
 The government encouraged the
devlopment with the Museo del
Pueblo;
 GATEPAC designed social houses
and buildings;
 Cosmopolitan, experimental and
modern painting (Picasso, Mallo,
Dali, Manso;
 Continued during the war:
o 1937 Paris International Exposition;
o Picasso presented his Guernica.