Key Moments in 19th and 20th century that lead up to the Spanish Civil War

• 1812 Constitución de Cádiz:
---Leading up this event, Spain suffered a terrible collapse, economically, militarily, in terms of perceived and real power.
---Lost to France in war, Godoy as PM (and reformer), wars with Britain, isolation from colonies, loss of colonies, loss of independence to France as Joseph king, uprising from 1808 to 1814
---The liberals formed a Junta in Madrid, which relocated to Sevilla and then Cádiz; they promulgated a Constitution which was to affect the next 50 years of politics and Spain
---El rey deseado, Fernando VII, takes the throne

• 1820-1823 Trienio
---Fernando VII is out; General Riego issues a pronunciamiento as Military leans toward liberalism, general population is indifferent
---Proves the futility of the 1812 Constitution, as after 3 years the government falls with the intervention of France and the throne goes back to Fernando VII (and the Restoration Monarchy continues)

• Carlista wars, Moderates rule, Liberals rule, Trains
---There are sporadic uprisings, revolutions in ’48 and ’54, Narváez as a military dictator, and Modernization of Spain under Narváez in some respects
---Carlista war from ’33-‘39
---Heavy Investment in trains, leads to an uneven industrialization

• 1868 La Gloriosa
---’68 Revolution leads to another Constitution ‘69
---by ’73, new king, Amadeo, abdicates, First Republic ensues (shortlived)
---Prim is assassinated in ‘70
---Cánovas and his system, el turno pacífico, will rule political Spain (along with the interruptions of the monarch and to a lesser extent the military, until 1923)

• 1898 Disaster
---Spain loses the rest of its colonies: PR, Cuba, Philippines, in war with US
---Little short-term costs economically or militarily, but huge psychological impact, as Spain is now seen without doubt as a second-class European citizen
---Leads to the concept of Regeneration, the need to fix Spain
---’97 Cánovas is shot by an anarchist militant

• 1909 Semana trágica
---Example of the unrest and continued uprisings/confrontations between workers, socialists, anarchists, militants and the government/military
---Also highlights the center role that Barcelona takes in the anarchist movement, uprisings and strikes, and the subsequent violent reprisals
---Canalejas assassinated by CNT militant in 1912

• Disaster in Annual in 1921
---Moroccan wars in 1909-1914, and then later with uprising after Spain overextends itself, lead to losses and the disaster at Annual
---In the aftermath, a search for those responsible for the loss, fearful that can expose military, monarch
---Primo de Rivera, with the support of Alfonso XIII (who came of age in 1906 and who considered the military’s role in politics to be essential), comes to power of military dictatorship, from 1923-1929

• 2nd Republic 1931-1936
---After Primo’s fall and a short quick fix, elections are held and a Republic is formed, Alfonso XIII flees
---After two years and little success, the Left loses its control of the cabinet and the government goes to the Right, who are determined to bring down the Republic by legal means; known as the bienio negro
---1932 General Sanjurjo attempts a coup, fails
---’33-’35 CEDA and Gil Robles dismantle reforms from previous administration, but in an effort to create a whole RIGHT government, new elections are needed; the Left, banded together (even the CNT allows their members to vote) Right out of power

• Military uprising, Civil War
---General Mola, with support from other generals and ultimately from Franco, plan military uprising
---Calvo Sotelo is murdered in ’36, spurs to action the generals (and wins Franco’s support of the coup)
---Garrisons in Melilla rise up, round up all opposition, first battle of the Civil War is fought and won (without anyone knowing about it)


Military:
The military is constantly upset and divided. In the early 19th century, it has its power (which was betrothed to it by the throne) reduced by Godoy’s reforms. The loss of naval superiority cuts Spain off from its Spanish American colonies (British blockade), which are crucial to the Empire. It is also weakened by constant war, lack of modernization, too much money spent on officers and not on training soldiers, and a resistance to reform from within (although in early 19th century more liberal than in later years). The military reasserts its power through various pronunciamientos issued by Generals, starting with Elío, who states that the interests of the military are the interests of Spain. The military had become angry and refused to go in 1820 on rickety boats across the sea to America. Military usually seen as retrograde, but at this time was aligned with liberals. Some of the prominent generals to have a role in the government include Prim, Serrano, Narváez, and many others. The decision of the military to intervene in politics and be outside of civilian rule is one that transcends the 19th century, as we see Primo de Rivera and then later Franco intercede in governmental affairs and office. The Military also suffers from divisions; between africanistas and peninsulares, the privileged and not-privileged, the Navy, Armed Forces and the Army and Artillery. There are also battles over promotion by seniority or merit (which can be abused, Primo case in point). The Military became the only force that could guarantee law and order; when Narváez formed the Guardia Civil this force greatly enforced law and order as well.

Agrarian/Land Reform:
This also ties in to the Catholic Church and disamortization, which freed up lands supposedly to help the poor, landless or tenant farmers, but almost resolutely contributed to consolidation of power for the landed oligarchy, who had the means and the access to purchase the lands. Various liberal reforms were introduced throughout the 19th and early 20th century with very little success; Esdaile believes they were ill-conceived and in many cases ruled by self-interest. The situation for the poor agrarian workers, the poor farmers, and the industry itself suffered immensely into the 20th century. Even the reforms enacted by the 2nd Republic were half-hearted, under-funded, and had unintentional consequences and loopholes. Because of the failures of the land reforms, as well as political developments outside of Spain, there is a rise in radical political beliefs and politics. PSOE is formed by Pablo Iglesias in 1879 and in 1888 the UGT is created, the workers’ wing of the party.

Catholic Church:
The Catholic Church repeatedly suffered great restraints on its power and then subsequent lifting of their restrictions. The first attempt at reducing its financial strength was introduced by Godoy, who reduced its wealth by 15% by 1808. Also at play during the 19th century is the institution of the Jesuits, the Inquisition, the role of the Church in education (an easy way to indoctrinate future generations). Generally the Left/liberals reduced the power of the Church and were considered to be very anti-clerical; the Right tended to defend its power and restore its rights. In the 20th century the Catholic Church was under even greater attack from some, and was symbolic for anarchists, socialists and other radicals as the ultimate source of privilege and corruption, and therefore there were numerous attacks on Church buildings, clergy, and the 2nd Republic declared freedom of religion. As a consequence, the Right consolidated its power with the Church.

Regionalism:
Regional concerns were not prevalent in the early part of the 19th century, but began in seriousness in Catalonia in the ‘50s and ‘60s with a heroic, nationalistic approach that praised past accomplishments, but had very little traction politically, especially with the bourgeoisie. Basque and Galician concerns were less powerful, especially in the Basque region, where immigration diluted the ‘Basqueness’ of the region and the elites refused to speak the native tongue. Political parties are formed in the early 20th century, including the Lliga and Esquerra for the Catalan region, and the PNV. There is a rift between the bourgeoisie industrialists and the working class, their interests of Catalan autonomy in conflict with their business interests. The Catalan industrialists align themselves with Primo de Rivera, for example, believing him to be an ideal ally due to his repression of anarchist and worker uprisings in Barcelona as Capitan General de BCN. However, they are mistaken, as he is a centralist who strips Catalonia of its autonomy and alienates the Catalonian nationalists of all stripes.

Industrialization and Modernization:
Spain’s industrialization is not uniform, and the lack of a more complex and successful industrialization would have had consequences concerning the plight of the landless workers and poor and on immigration. As it was, the time period underneath Narváez and the Moderates is considered the beginning of the industrial stirrings in Spain, with much of the focus on the railways. In 1855, a law was passed the eased the restrictions on importing railway goods into Spain, and a railroad construction boom followed suit. Foreign capital was responsible for the majority of the investment, as domestic capital was limited (although it too was directed primarily at trains). Unfortunately, the belief that heavy investment in railways would lead to industrialization in other parts of Spain was not realized, and only certain regions of Spain (Catalonia, Barcelona in particular, Basque region, Vizcaya, Bilbao) enjoyed industrial awakening. This hurt the poor who wanted to move to big cities and find employment (Barcelona and Bilbao would be two exceptions), since jobs weren’t to be had. It also negatively affected the economy, as less development in industry and the agricultural industry (and protectionist tariffs that stunted growth and modernizing) resulted in less economic development and taxes. The slow industrialization led to a slowed urbanization of Spain, and it wouldn’t be until the ‘20s that Spain underwent a more profound industrialization under Primo. It also led to a modernization of Spain and his downfall.

Monarch:
The rift between the Carlistas and the Borbones (am I mixing this up and Carlos was a Borbon too?) can be traced back to Fernando VII’s decision to marry his neice, María Cristina, who gave birth to who would later become Isabel II. This precluded his brother, Carlos, from the throne. Once this decision was made, the Carlistas were born, who consistently fought the monarchy in an attempt to dethrone Isabel and reinstall Carlos (his son). This moved on into the 20th century, as the Carlistas were to become symbolic of a desire for traditional values. After the Revolution of 1868 removed Isabel from the throne, a battle raged over what form the government should take and who should be king. Amadeo the brief was from 1870-1873, and then he abdicated in disgust, leaving a vacuum with the First Republic poorly filled. What was to be the government and was there to be a king? Eventually Cánovas and conservatives created a system which was to become known as the turno pacífico, and Alfonso XII became king. Those who supported Alfonso and later his son were known as alfonsistas, who had an important role after Alfonso XIII fled at the start of the 2nd Republic. They combined with other traditional forces, such as the military, carlistas, Church, and conservative political groups like CEDA, Falange, etc, in the revolt of ’36. I should note too that the monarchy had a meddling personality when it came to politics, especially during the turno pacífico, which led to much grumbling among politicians; Alfonso XIII was known as a soldier king and preferred military control and intervention to civilian rule, which was part of the reason he assisted Primo de Rivera’s military directory.

Immigration/Migration:
Migration did occur in smaller quantities during the 19th century, primarily to the Spanish American colonies. However, immigration was less than might have been expected, because of the lack of employment in the bigger cities (failed industrialization in many aspects); Esdaile calls it more of a 20th century phenomenon. In the 20th century, urbanization was more prevalent as the number of citizens employed in agriculture dropped below 50% and immigration from rural areas to the cities was more persistent. This led to more numbers of union members, over-crowding, and other problems associated with immigration, and there was an unsettling amount of unrest and uprisings by militant anarchists, workers, socialists, radicalists, who were unhappy with the sluggish to non-existent social reforms of the government and believed that a universal general strike would lead to the overthrow of capitalism. As the urban populations increased, so did education of the population and literacy, its access to cinema, travel, exposure to other ideas, and other forms of modernization which led to a questioning of the status quo, and by the end of Primo’s dictatorship, politics and mass interest in Spain coincided on a large scale.



Notes added in meet:
Mistake was to become too aligned with France after 7 year war
Louis XV alliance with Spanish Borbones
Continuous war for most of end of 1788 to 1814
British blockade leads to problem of economic downturn, lack of supplies from the new world like silver and gold, no trade, lack of industry
No prolonged reforming period
Also, reforms and revolutions were feared because of the French example, off with the king’s head, the reign of terror, and the dangers to ruling class interests (would lose everything)
A lack of political representation, what helped cause French Revolution, present in Spain; population’s interests not represented by governments (for a really really long time); represents landed oligarchy
Lack of revolution, or alternative to revolution
Lack of viable professional middle class
Industrialization was delayed, insufficient to soak up landless laborers
Conservatives/Liberals divided by issues: peripheral regionalism vs. Castilian Spain
What kind of government do we want? Centralized? Republic? Monarchy? Carlista? Borbones?
Army sees itself as the stable force in Spain, only guarantee of law and order, only security force government can rely upon, tradition of military intervention
Then Narváez created the Guardia Civil, which is a separate force, known for its ferocity and feared by population, loyal to government
Turning point 1898 disaster
Morocco problem as well, which had its roots in 19th century Spain, in 20th century the Army sees it as the last remnant of the Empire as well as the last sure ground where the Military can test itself (battle-hardened africanistas vs. peninsulares)
Political movements (except for the Falange) are already in movement in 19th century