With reference to any civil war in the 20th century examine

the social, economic and political background to the divisions in

the society involved. To what extent were the problems which

caused the war resolved in the post-war period?

The state of Spain during the early years of the 20th century

can be said to have been a state of great "unease". Spain was one

of the first powers to loose her imperial influence, the state was

politically unstable, industrially weak and had suffered some

humiliating defeats. It can be said that these were the main

causes that lead to the great instability of Spain during the Civil

war and post civil war periods.

Left-winged radicalism and nationalistic movements, such as

the Catalan movement frequently came into conflict with the central

government, which lead the government to use corruption more and

more frequently as a form of control. The result was a military

coup in 1923 lead by Miguel Primo de Rivera. Rivera preferred a

more direct way of governing, with a strong Christian base and a

very anti-communist attitude. He did not like party politics,

preferring to govern pragmatically, at first with a military

cabinet, but later on (1926) he decided a systematic government

would be more efficient. So he introduced the `National Assembly'

intended to represent different classes and groups, probably to

soften the opposition; as well as the Union Patriotica, created to

mobilize popular support for his regime.

Rivera also managed to strengthen the Spanish infra-structure,

but the funding had to come from loans from other nations, because

the upper classes would not accept a overhaul in the taxation

system. He also managed to encourage industrial growth, which did

work to a certain extent because of many internal problems, and the

big depression.

These financial and political, as well as social difficulties

led his regime to end in 1930 because it was unable to stop the

attacks from the left, as well as attacks from the reluctant

military (who did not like his ideas of officer minimalisation).

The next elections were won by the republicans, led by Azana,

without too much difficulty. The Republic lasted 8 years before

another military coup, led by general Franco, took over the

government.

The Republic tried to set out major reforms, intending to

restructure the whole of Spain. The eight-hour working day was set

up, as well as a reduction of officers in the armed forces (by the

form of early retirement). Voting rights were given to people at

the age of 23, the nobility was abolished and, severe measures were

taken against the Church, especially religious education

(considered, in a way, a form of propaganda). The region of

Catalonia was given some self-governing privileges, like the

control of it's own police. The problem was that these reforms

seemed to be too severe to the right-winged opposition and the

privileged classes.

So in 1933, Azana's government fell after being defeated by

the general elections. The new government was actually a series of

coalitions which set out to undo all the reforms produced by the

former republican government. This lead to conflicts between what

now could be called the two main "fronts". These two camps were

the Popular Front (consisting of Communists, Socialist, Anarchists,

etc.), and the National Front (consisting of right-winged parties

and other conservative institutions, such as the Church and the

Falange). These parties fought for the next elections after the

former coalition government dissolved.

The Popular Front won these elections, and so once again,

Azana came into power. He tried, once again, to set out all his

previous reforms. He also exiled Franco, who was considered the

greatest threat to the new government. The problem with the new

government though, was that it was (in the eyes of the opposition)

drifting too far into communism. The National Front could not

stand it any longer, so a military coup was hatched, lead by Franco

to overthrough the government. This plan was set up so that two

main forces, one coming from the north, and the other from the

south would eventually converge and snuff out the Republic.

The National Front eventually won the civil war, not only

because it had financial and military support from Nazi Germany and

Fascist Italy, but also because the Popular Front had it's own

internal conflicts.

Franco's regime proved quite successful. He managed to

overcome internal disputes and balance the different Nationalist

groups; he left the question of monarchy open to the carlists and

also favored and encouraged a more influential Church. Even though

his government had a tough time during the 1940's with regards to

it's status (problems becoming a member of the united nations),

other nations saw Spain become, in their eyes, a more "softer

nation", this improved it's foreign dealings, mainly because of the

fact that the cold war had started.

A great success was the 1953 Madrid Pact between Spain and the

U.S.A, which provided Spain with quite a substantial amount of

military and monetary aid in return for access to it's military

bases. This pact, as well as the better relations between Spain

and the other powers and the great stability brought about because

of the enormous repression that came with his regime, led Spain to

booming years during the 1960's.

The Spanish people saw a better Spain, economically, but it

was still in a very primitive state politically and socially

compared to other european nations, who were not under military

rule (with a few exceptions, of course). The end of the Franco

regime left many scars in the social and political side of Spain.

People had been submitted to a suppressive state, where very little

regard for any basic human right was given.