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Spanish Civil War

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SPANISH CIVIL WAR – WEAKNESS & COLLAPSE Introduction: The second republic was formed after the dictatorship under Primo de Rivera (1923) and the abdication of the King. The republican leftist government was established in 1931. It inherited the poor economy courtesy of the Great Depression, so naturally unemployment rates were high and wages were low. Ideological differences between various political groups were in existence due to the radicalized time, however not to the extent as in most other European nations at the time as Spain was not as heavily involved in or impacted by WWI. On top of this, Spain had been rife with regional, economic, and social conflict for decades. These factors, although minor in the context of the …show more content…

So who cares? The socialist and urban working class still supported the government o But NO! The socialist and urban class were a small majority in Spain actually as the social class was extremely polarized in Spain. o NOT ONLY did it anger the wealthy/landed/industrialists but it also left a majority of ‘ordinary people’ dissatisfied as it had little to no effect on the widespread poverty of rural Spain • SOOOO it was very much unsuccessful in that it really pleased no one and angered just about everyone, thereby significantly reducing the Gov’t support base • Carlos Rama: – “Civil war resulted from Spain’s failure to create a state which could command at least the allegiance, and perhaps the luke-warm support of its citizens.” o Indicates that the societal discord caused by the constitution precipitated the subsequent political discord that would lead to the collapse of government • Furthermore Historian Frances Lannon: – calls the constitution “divisive” in that the articles on property and religion and the prioritization of state power had a “disregard for civil rights” and ruined the prospect of the development of a Catholic, conservative, republicanism • Browne: – The second republic failed to become a “mature state” and was unable to broaden support • In summary: Azaña loses support from the right and is

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