Causes and Consequences of the Spanish Civil War
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The Spanish Civil War. Explain some of the causes and consequences
The Spanish civil war was a major conflict between the Republicans and Nationalists, which was fierce and bloody as over 500,000 people were killed. It began in July of 1936, and waged on until April of 1939. Although later conflicts have overshadowed it, the Spanish civil war remains one of the bloodiest conflicts of our modern era as well as one of the most consequential as resulted in a brutal dictatorship that lasted for almost forty years after. Aside from the dead, the war left thousands of citizens homeless and persecuted; no living Spanish citizens were left unaffected by the war. Aside from the consequences that came after the war, this essay will also cover the most significant causes of it that came beforehand.
As Forrest (2000) tells us, the background narrative of the war go far back to the year of 1898 when Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines – each economically valuable Spanish colonies – were lost to the United States. This led to still-grudging army officers to set up their own unions in 1917, the year in which there was a general strike in response to the inflation and internal conflict which had come to the country. Anarchism was growing fast, and Forrest lists the unrests there were between workers and capitalists, catholic and atheists, anarcho-syndicalists and conservatives, regionalists and centralists, and landless labourers and landowners. Industry captains resented the landowners’ hold on political power and landless labourers were brutally repressed by the Civil Guard and hated the conservative small holders, Catholics, and allies of landowners. Then also came the movement of ‘regenerationism’ as a reaction against the local political corruption (such as rigged elections), the followers of which sought to restore justice to Spain.
Then in 1921 came a military defeat in Morocco, which cost the Spanish forces
The Spanish Civil War. Explain some of the causes and consequences
The Spanish civil war was a major conflict between the Republicans and Nationalists, which was fierce and bloody as over 500,000 people were killed. It began in July of 1936, and waged on until April of 1939. Although later conflicts have overshadowed it, the Spanish civil war remains one of the bloodiest conflicts of our modern era as well as one of the most consequential as resulted in a brutal dictatorship that lasted for almost forty years after. Aside from the dead, the war left thousands of citizens homeless and persecuted; no living Spanish citizens were left unaffected by the war. Aside from the consequences that came after the war, this essay will also cover the most significant causes of it that came beforehand.
As Forrest (2000) tells us, the background narrative of the war go far back to the year of 1898 when Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines – each economically valuable Spanish colonies – were lost to the United States. This led to still-grudging army officers to set up their own unions in 1917, the year in which there was a general strike in response to the inflation and internal conflict which had come to the country. Anarchism was growing fast, and Forrest lists the unrests there were between workers and capitalists, catholic and atheists, anarcho-syndicalists and conservatives, regionalists and centralists, and landless labourers and landowners. Industry captains resented the landowners’ hold on political power and landless labourers were brutally repressed by the Civil Guard and hated the conservative small holders, Catholics, and allies of landowners. Then also came the movement of ‘regenerationism’ as a reaction against the local political corruption (such as rigged elections), the followers of which sought to restore justice to Spain.
Then in 1921 came a military defeat in Morocco, which cost the Spanish forces
Bibliography: Ellwood, Sheelagh M., 1991 The Spanish Civil War (Historical Association Studies) Basil Blackwell Ltd Esenwein, G. R., 2005 The Spanish Civil War: A Modern Tragedy Routledge Forrest, A., 2000 The Spanish Civil War (Questions and Analysis in History) Routledge Preston, P., 1986 The Spanish Civil War 1936-39 Butler & Tanner Ltd