12 CAUSES OF THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR, 1936-1939
The Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939 was an armed conflict between the conservatives (church, land owners and Fascist elements) against the Republicans, socialists, communists and anarchists in Spain. The civil war broke out or started with a military or army uprising in Morocco on 17th July 1936 triggered by the events in Madrid and it eventually spread to mainland Spain. The war was led by General Francisco Franco, a senior army officer in the Spanish army.
The Nationalists, as the rebels under General Franco were called, were supported by Adolf Hitter of Germany and Benito Mussolini of Italy - the Nazists and Fascists respectively. The Republicans on the other hand received aid from the Soviet Union (Russia) as well as from the International Brigades composed of foreign volunteers from Europe and the United States. The war ended in 1939 with the victory of the Nationalists who overthrew a democratically elected Republican government and installed dictatorship in Spain that lasted up to November 1975.
CAUSES OF THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR, 1936-1939
The negative effects of the World Economic Depression of 1929-1935 caused the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939. Between 1929 and 1935, there was a world economic meltdown situation or period of reduced economic activities characterized by increased unemployment, low consumption, low income levels, poverty and economic stagnation among others. It started in North America and later spread to other parts of the world including Spain. The Spanish Republican government failed to deal with these economic hardships which were worsened by the 1935 drought and 1936 storms which destroyed crops. This polarized the Spanish public, thus encouraging the army under General Franco to organize a civil war in 1936.
The success of the Republican Revolution in 1931 against the Spanish Monarchy laid a foundation for the Spanish civil war of 1936-1939. In 1931, the Spanish King Alfonso XIII, under increasing pressure, authorized elections to decide the government of Spain and the voters overwhelmingly chose to abolish the monarchy in favour of a liberal Republic. King Alfonso XIII went into exile and therefore the Second Spanish Republic, initially dominated by middle class liberals and moderate socialists, was proclaimed. This success inspired a group of senior generals from the part of the Spanish army based in Morocco to stage a coup d’état led by General Franco on 17th July 1936 and Spain quickly erupted into a civil war.
The rise of Spanish nationalism fuelled by the loss of colonies caused the Spanish civil war of 1936-1939. For example, there was loss of Cuba during the Spanish-American War of 1898 in which the United States joned Cuban in her war of independence against Spain. She also lost abattle to the Berbers in the Spanish Protectorate of Morocco in 1921 which heightened nationalistic feelings among the masses in Spain. The failure by the liberal Spanish government to restore such colonies and foreign glory undermined its credibility and therefore inspired a group of army officers under General Franco to stage a coup attempt in July 1936 which deteriorated into a civil war.
The general insecurity in Spain caused the Spanish civil war of 1936-1939. In 1931, the Second Spanish Republic was established following a period of right-wing dictatorship under monarchical rule. Unfortunately, this republic fell victim of the deep historical divisions in the Spanish politics, thus polarizing Spain in early mid-1930s between the left-wing and the right-wing political sides. Because of this polarization of the Spanish public, there were endless clashes or strikes in the country. For example, during the first months of 1936, more than two hundred partial strikes took peace in Spain, while one hundred and seventy churches, sixty nine clubs and offices of newspapers were set on fire by arsonists. Unfortunately, the Spanish liberal government failed to stop this insecurity in the country which undermined its credibility. This inspired the senior army officers under General Franco to stage a coup attempt in July 1936 which eventually resulted into a civil war.
The influence of the left-wing Popular Front Party caused the Spanish civil war of 1936-1939. In February 1936, new elections were organized and the Popular Front - a left wing party gained a majority win in the Spanish government. This annoyed the Fascist and extreme-right wing forces and therefore they began plotting to overthrow the government under the Popular Front Party. Consequently, in July 1936 the right-wing military leaders under General Franco responded with an army mutiny and coup attempt against the Spanish liberal government that eventually expanded into a civil war.
The anti-Catholic policies of the Republican government caused the Spanish civil war of 1936-1939. In 1936, the government passed a number of anti-clerical laws which alienated it from the Catholic Church. For example, it introduced laws which reduced the church’s power over education. This therefore brought about the negative attitude of the Catholic Church against the government which inspired the church to join the land owners and fascist elements in Spain to launch a civil war in 1936 under the leadership of General Franco.
The attempts to reduce the influence of the army by the Second Republic of Spain caused the civil war. For example, in 1936 the government passed an army reform by which eight thousand officers were forced into retirement and this offended the army so much. Similarly, General Franco a senior army officer and strict monarchist, was sent to an obscure command in the Canary Islands off Africa. The army officers therefore decided to form the rebel Nationalist army led by General Franco which launched a civil war against the republican government in July 1936.
The need to end the separatist movements of Catalonia and the Basque Country caused the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939. In 1922, an independence movement began in the Spanish region of Catalonia aimed at breaking this region away from the rest of Spain and create a separate state of Catalonia in North-Eastern Spain with its capital at the town of Barcelona. There was also the Basque country which was an autonomous province for the Basque people in Northern Spain. In 1932, the Second Spanish Republic granted autonomy to the region of Catalonia following negotiations between the Catalonian separatists and the leaders of the republic. General Franco and his colleagues hated this autonomy granted to these regions because it undermined national unity in the country. As a result, they launched a civil war in 1936 against the liberal Republican government so as to stop these separatist movements and maintain a United Spain.
The nationalization policies of the Second Republic caused the Spanish civil war of 1936-1939. Since 1931, the Republican government had instituted several measures aimed at establishing states control over the major means of production in Spain as a step to end private ownership. For example, in the early 1930s the republican government put in place land reforms through which land in Spain was nationalized. This greatly annoyed the conservative land owners in Spain who had lost their land in this process. They therefore joined the Catholic Church and fascist elements under General Franco to stage a coup attempt against the republican government in July 1936 which deteriorated into a civil war in Spain.
The impact of urbanization in Spain caused the 1936-1939 civil wars. Spain witnessed rapid urbanization which saw the emergence of major towns like Madrid and Barcelona. Within these urban centers, were large numbers of people and this resulted into economic hardships like widespread unemployment and radicalization of the industrial workers due to the high cost of living. These problems increased the unpopularity of the liberal government and General Franco therefore exploited this situation to stage a coup attempt in July 1936 which resulted into a civil war in Spain.
The fear of communism in Spain caused the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939. Communism was an economic system which advocated for the state control of businesses and other factors production like land as well as giving much power to the workers. This ideology originated from Russia, following the success of the 1917 Russian revolutions which overthrew the Tsarist regime and led to the establishment of communism. From Russia, communism spread to the Western European countries including Spain, and sparked off instabilities that created fear among the businessmen, government officials and land owners. For example, in October 1934, a general strike and armed rising of workers or socialists was put down by the Spanish army under General Franco on behalf of the government. Therefore, fearing that the Spanish liberal government would give way to a communist or Marxist revolution, the army officers under General Franco conspired to capture power in July 1936 so as to rid Spain of Bolshevism or communism. These officers also received support from the church and land owners who wanted to protect their private property like land.
The weakness of the League of Nations caused the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939. Formed in 1920, the League of Nations was expected to uphold democracy in Europe by defending democratic governments against any threats. However, due to its military and economic weaknesses, the League of Nations failed to defend the existing liberal democratic governments in Europe from being overthrown by dictators. For example, it failed to protect the Italian liberal government under King Victor Emmanuel III from being overthrown in 1922 by Benito Mussolini. It also failed to stop Adolf Hitler from overthrowing the democratic Weimar Republic in 1934 which had been established in 1919 following the resignation of Kaiser William II. Such weaknesses therefore inspired General Franco to launch a civil against the liberal Republican government of Spain in 1936.
The military uprising of 1936 against the liberal government caused the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939. On 17th July 1936, a group of the most influential generals from the part of the Spanish army based in Morocco organized a military uprising against the Spanish liberal government. This army rebellion which was triggered off by the events in Madrid soon spread to mainland Spain and exploded into a full scale civil war that lasted from 1936 up to 1939.
The impact of the success of the 1922 Fascist revolution in Italy also caused the Spanish civil war of 1936-1939. In October 1922, Benito Mussolini organized his fascists to march to Rome and capture power in a coup from the Italian liberal government under King Victor Emmanuel III. The King refused to resist the march even though the Italian army was well equipped to disperse it. Instead, the king invited Mussolini to enter the parliament and told him to form a new government which marked the rise of Fascism in Italy. This success inspired General Franco to launch a civil war in Spain against the Republican government in 1936.
The inspiration from the success of Adolf Hitler of Germany in 1934 also caused the Spanish civil war of 1936-1939. In August 1934, Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany after overthrowing the democratic Weimar republic which had failed to address Germany’s social, political and economic problems. This success by Adolf Hitler inspired General Francisco Franco to also stage a coup attempt in July 1936 against the Spanish liberal government and this eventually exploded into a civil war in Spain.
The desire by Benito Mussolini to extend the Fascist ideology in Spain also caused the civil war. He was an Italian patriot who founded the Fascist ideology in Italy in the 1920s. This was a dictatorial system of government which aimed at destroying other political ideologies in Europe especially like liberal democracy. This is what inspired Mussolini to join Hitler-a fellow Fascist to go to Spain and assist General Franco to overthrow the liberal Spanish government. This eventually caused the civil war in Spain.
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