Spain(19 20 centuries)

SPAIN

LATE 19th CENTURY

20th CENTURY

THE FIRST REPUBLIC (1873-74)

• It started with the abdication as king on 10 February1873 of Amadeo I. The next day the republic wasdeclared by a parliamentary majority made up ofradicals, republicans and democrats.

• It faced many problems, as the division amongRepublicans.

• In December 1874 there was another militaryuprising. This brought about the restoration of themonarchy, the return of the Bourbon dynasty topower and the end of the First Republic.

THE BOURBON RESTORATION

• Alfonso XII, Isabel II’s son is proclamed king.• Spain became a parliamentary monarchy.• The constitution of 1876 established limited

male suffrage.• Two political parties (Liberals and

Conservatives) alternated in power bymanipulating election results.

• The king shared legislative power with theCortes.

• Republicans opposed the government becausethey felt excluded from the political system.

PERIOD OF REGENCY

• Alfonso XII died in 1885, his wife María Cristinabecame regent for their son Alfonso XIII, whowas born shortly after his father’s death.

• During this regency period, Spain lost its lastremaining colonies (Cuba, Puerto Rico and thePhilippines) after the Spanish-American war.

• Because of the Disaster of ‘98, Spain wasrelegated to second-class status in internationalpolitics.

• The loss of colonial markets was detrimental toSpanish industry and trade.

ALFONSO XIII

• Alfonso XIII became king in 1902, he wasconfronted with a series of political, social andcolonial problems that would eventually bringabout the fall of the monarchy.

POLITICAL OPPOSITION• The system of alternating Liberal and

Conservative governments began to collapse dueto internal divisions in both parties.

• Other parties as PSOE, PRR, PCE and PNVgained support.

• Due to growing regionalism, the governmentallowed the creation of regional associations.

SOCIAL CONFLICTS

• The enormous differences in wealth between theupper and lower classes led to the establishmentof political parties that defended workers’ rightsand trade unions.

• Workers continued to demand better workingconditions through demonstrations and strikes.

COLONIAL PROBLEMS

• After the disaster of ‘98, Spain tried to acquirenew colonies in North Africa to rebuild itsempire and regain international prestige. But itcreated new problems:

▫ Tragic week: When Spanish reservists were sent to fight inMorocco in 1909, there were protests in Barcelona led byworkers and the families of soldiers which were brutallysuppressed by the army.

▫ War in Morocco: in 1912, Spain established a protectorateover its newly acquired territories in Morocco. Other areaswere controlled by France. The native population opposedto the foreign presence and this led to the outbreak of theSpanish-Moroccan Rif War (1920-26).

• Spain didn’t participate in the First World War due tothe economic and social problems although regions suchas Cataluña and País Vasco increased their industrialcapacity as a result of demand from the countriesfighting the war. After the war Spain suffered aneconomic crisis because the demand collapsed.

PRIMO DE RIVERA

• Public opinion became very critical of the militaryand the defeats it was suffering in Morocco. Also,military officers played a prominent role in Spanishpolitics, especially in the suppression of protests andstrikes.

• Compulsary military service was also a source ofdiscontent because the wealthy people could avoidpaying a special fee.

• Those factors created a climate of politicalinstability. Finally, in 1923 the government wasoverthrown by a military coup led by General MiguelPrimo de Rivera with the approval of the king. Afterthe coup, Primo de Rivera established adictatorship.

THE DICTATORSHIP OF

PRIMO DE RIVERA

• With the aproval of the king, Primo de Riverabecame head of the government.

• At first, many sectors of society supported thedictatorship.

• His Patriotic Union ruled the country as the onlyofficial political party.▫ To re-establish order, the government supressed

protests, regionalist movements and Anarchistsorfanisations.

▫ More troops were sent to Morocco and in 1926Spain declared victory in the Rif war.

• From 1928 the dictatorship faced oppositionparties who wanted to restore the Cortes, theuniversities which opposed the government’scensorship policy and the armed forces whowere dissatisfied with the system of promotion.

• In 1929, due to the Great Depression, Spainsuffered an economic crisis which caused risingunemployment and social conflict.

• Alfonso XIII withdrew the support to thedictatorship and in 1930 Primo de Rivera finallyresigned.

THE SECOND REPUBLIC

• In April 1931, municipal elections took place. Whena Republican-Socialist coalition won in most cities,Alfonso XIII went into exile. On 14 April, the SecondRepublic was declared and a new constitution waswritten.

• Changes:▫ Provinces with common historical or economic

features could establish communities with their ownstatues of autonomy.

▫ The state was secular.▫ A new flag was introduced.▫ The royal crown was removed from Spain’s coat and

replaced by a fortified castle in the shape of a crown.

PERIODS OF THE SECOND REPUBLIC• Left-wing governments 1931-1933

▫ They were formed by Republicans from various politicalparties, led by Manuel Azaña. The President was AlcaláZamora.

▫ Some reforms were: Statute of autonomy for Cataluña.

Large agricultural estates were expropriated.

Public education became free and compulsory. Religiouseducation was banned.

New laws for businesses to negotiate working conditions andwages with the trade unions.

Number of officers was reduced.

▫ These reforms led to protests by groups at both extremes.There were serious incidents in rural areas with the resultof peasants killed by the police. When the situationcontinued to deteriorate, Azaña finally resigned.

• Right-wing governments 1934-1936▫ After Azaña’s resignation, elections were held. As

a result, a more conservative government came topower. It suspended the previous government’sreforms and took measures to stop protests andsocial conflict.

▫ In October 1934,a general strike led to twoimportant events: A social revolution broke out in Asturias. Cataluña proclaimed itself to be a state.

▫ The army intervened to suppress both theseuprisings, but increasing tension eventuallybrought about new elections in 1936.

• The popular Front government

▫ A coalition called the Popular Front, made up ofvarious left-wing parties, won the election inFebruary 1936.

▫ They tried to continue implementing the reformsthat the previous government had suspended.

▫ There were increasing numbers of protests andviolent clashes between Falangists, Socialists,Anarchists and Communists.

▫ In July 1936, part of the military rose up againstthe government. This triggered the outbreak of theSpanish Civil War.

THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR

• The military rebellion that started on 17 July 1936was led by Generals Mola, Sanjurjo and Franco. Therebellions’s aims were:▫ To end the social disturbances such as protests, strikes

and politically motivated acts of violence.▫ To put a stop to the reforms introduced by left-wing

governments and reverse many of these changes.▫ To prevent a potential revolution that might lead to

the establishment of a Communist state in Spain.• The uprising’s supporters planned to remove the

government from power and establish anauthoritarian regime. They couldn’t achieve a quickvictory because of the strength of Republican forces.

• As a result, Spain was divided into two opposingsides and civil war broke out.▫ The Nationalists who were in favour of the military

uprising. They had the support of Germany, Italy andPortugal.

▫ The Republicans who were in favour of the Republicangovernment. They had the support of the USSR andthe International Brigades.

• After three years of fighting, the National army tookMadrid in March 1939. On 1 April, the war endedwith a Nationalist victory. General Franco, who wastheir leader, established an authoritariandictatorship inspired by the regimes of NaziGermany and Fascist Italy.

SPAIN DURING THE WORLD WAR TWO

• Spain remained neutral so that Franco could concentrateon his domestic problems such as:▫ An economic crisis: The civil war had destroyed agricultural

lands, factories and infrastructure.▫ A demographic crisis: many people had died during the war

and many Republicans had emigrated to other countries.Spain’s birth-rate had also fallen dramatically.

▫ Political opposition: Spain was divided into two groups(who supported Franco’s regime and who was against)

• Franco supported Nazi Germany by sending volunteertroops, called the Blue Division, to fight against theSoviet Union. In 1943, the Blue Division withdrew fromthe conflict and Spain remained neutral for the rest ofthe war.

FRANCOIST SPAIN• Domestic Policy▫ The dictatorship strenghtened its position through a

series of measures introduced between 1939 and 1959. Franco concentrated all power in his own hands, with the

support of the only official political party: the FalangeEspañola de la JONS.

The constitution of 1931 was replaced by a new set ofconstitutional laws dictated by Franco.

Power was centralised and regionalism was suppressed.The only permitted language was Spanish.

▫ After 1959, the main aim was to modernise thecountry, appointing specialists as ministers in areassuch as economics, health and education.

▫ In 1969, Franco designated Juan Carlos de Borbón ashis successor and passed a series of laws to modify theregime’s authoritarian image.

• Foreign policy▫ During the early years of the Franco regime, Spain

experienced a period of international isolation becauseof the United Nations’ embargo on the country forbeing a dictatorship.

▫ In 1953, Spain signed a military agreement with theUSA (allowing the establishment of America militarybases in Spain) and a concordat with the Vatican .Thismarked a more open period. It also became a memberof the United Nations in 1955.

▫ The regime gave the Catholic Church privileges such astax exemptions, economic support and control overeducation and in return got benefits such as the rightto nominate candidates to become bishops.

THE ECONOMY AND SOCIETY

UNDER FRANCO• Economy

▫ The UN embargo led to economic stagnation and preventedindustrial development.

▫ When the regime became more technocratic in the 1960seconomy grew and new industrial zones were created and foreigncurrency began to arrive, mainly through tourism and Spanishpeople living abroad and sending money to their families inSpain.

• Society▫ During the 1940s and 1950s, the Franco regime implemented a

programme of indoctrination to promote traditional ideas such aspatriotism and family values.

▫ The regime suppressed organisations which demanded greaterfreedom, such as trade unions ad students organisations.

▫ The economic development of the 1960s caused considerablerural to urban migration. Many Spaniards also emigrated to otherEuropean countries that needed more workers.

THE TRANSITION AND DEMOCRACY

• After Franco’s death in 1975 and the proclamation ofJuan Carlos I as king, a period of political transitionbegan.

• Adolfo Suárez, who became Prime Minister in 1976,introduced a number of important measures such asan amnesty for political prisoners, legalisation ofpolitical parties and a call for a general election.

• In 1977 the first democratic general election washeld and won by UCD which followed a policy ofconsensus with other parties. Some agreementswere: The Moncloa Pacts to enable Spain to join theEEC and the Constitution of 1978.