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{{main|Background of the Spanish Civil War}}
===During the constitutional monarchy===
The 19th century was a turbulent time for Spain. The country had undergone several [[civil war]]s and [[revolt]]s, carried out by both reformists and the conservatives, who tried to displace each other from power. A liberal tradition that first ascended to power with the [[Spanish Constitution of 1812]] sought to abolish the [[monarchy]] of the old regime and to establish a [[liberalism|liberal]] state.<ref name="Fraser38">Fraser. pp. 38–39.</ref> Between 1812 and the civil war, there had been several attempts to realign the political system to match the social reality.<ref>Preston (2006). p. 18.</ref> Until the 1950s, capitalism in Spain was
[[File:Amadeo king of Spain.jpg|thumb|right|King [[Amadeo I of Spain]].]]
Between 1868 and 1874, popular uprising led to the overthrowing of [[Queen Isabella II of Spain|Isabella II]].<ref name="preston21">Preston (2006). p. 21.</ref> In 1873, her replacement, King [[Amadeo I of Spain|Amadeo I]], abdicated due to increasing political pressure and the [[First Spanish Republic]] was proclaimed.<ref name="thomas13"/><ref name="preston21"/> However, the [[Spain under the Restoration|restoration of the Bourbons]] occurred in December 1874 after the uprisings were crushed by the military.<ref name="preston22">Preston (2006). p. 22.</ref> Elections were controlled by ''[[caciques]]'', local political bosses.<ref>Thomas (1961). p. 14.</ref> [[Carlists]] – supporters of [[Infante Carlos, Count of Molina|Infante Carlos]] and his descendants – fought for the cause of Spanish tradition and [[Catholicism]].<ref name="Fraser38"/> [[Anarchism]] became popular among the working class and was far stronger in Spain than anywhere else in Europe.<ref name="Fraser38"/>
The military was keen to avoid the fracture of the state. Regional nationalism was frowned upon. Resentment of the military and conscription grew with the disastrous [[Rif War (1909)|Rif War]]
[[File:Primo-de-rivera.JPG|thumb|right|Prime Minister [[Miguel Primo de Rivera]].]]
In 1923, [[Miguel Primo de Rivera]] came to power in a military coup, and instituted new policies, including a sweeping programme of public works.<ref name="preston34"/> No significant reform to the political system, and in particular the monarchy, was instituted. Gradually, his support faded,<ref name="preston34"/> and he resigned in January 1930.<ref name="preston36">Preston (2006). p. 36.</ref> There was little support for a return to the pre-1923 system, and the monarchy had backed the military government, losing democratic credibility.<ref name="preston36"/> The [[Second Spanish Republic]] was thus formed.<ref>Preston (2006). p. 37.</ref>▼
After the formation of [[Comintern]] in 1919, there was a growing fear of communism, and growing repression on the part of the government, through military means. The PSOE split, with more radical members founding the [[Communist Party of Spain|Communist Party]] in 1921.<ref name="preston34">Preston (2006). pp. 34–35.</ref>
▲In 1923, [[Miguel Primo de Rivera]] came to power in a military coup, and ran Spain as a military dictatorship.<ref name="thomas16"/> He instituted new
===During the Second Republic===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-12783, Alcala Zamora.jpg|thumb|180px|right|[[Niceto Alcalá-Zamora]] in 1931.]]
[[File:SalvadorDali-SoftConstructionWithBeans.jpg|thumb|right|Foreshadowing the conflict: [[Salvador Dalí]]'s ''[[Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War)]]'']]▼
The Second Republic had the broad support of all. [[Niceto Alcalá-Zamora]] was made the Prime Minister of the republic.<ref>Thomas (1961). p. 21.</ref> Elections to a constituent [[Cortes Generales|Cortes]] in June 1931 returned a large majority of Republicans and Socialists.<ref>Preston (2006). p. 50.</ref> Lerroux became foreign minister.<ref>Thomas (1961). pp. 21–22.</ref> It was controlled by a Republican-Socialist coalition, members of which had differing objectives.<ref name="preston38"/> The state's financial position was poor, and supporters of the Dictatorship were doing their best to restrict progress.<ref name="preston41">Preston (2006). pp. 41–42.</ref> The government attempted to tackle a dire situation in rural parts of Spain, including an eight-hour day, and security of tenure to the farm workers.<ref>Preston (2006). p. 42.</ref> Landlords campaigned, and the efficiency of the reforms was dependent on the skill of the local governance.<ref name="preston43"/>
Effective opposition was led by three groups. Firstly, by Catholic movements such as the [[Asociación Católica de Propagandistas]]
On December 9, 1931, a new constitution, the [[Spanish Constitution of 1931]], was declared.<ref name="preston53">Preston (2006). p. 53.</ref> It was reformist, liberal and democratic in nature, and welcomed by the Republican-Socialist coalition. It appalled landowners, industrialists, the organised church, and army officers.<ref name="preston53"/> The new constitution removed any special [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] rights, as the new government believed it was necessary to break the control the church had over Spanish affairs.<ref name="preston53"/> On 18 October 1931, [[José María Gil-Robles y Quiñones|Gil Robles]] the leading spokesman of the parliamentary right, called for a crusade against the republic.<ref name="preston54">Preston (2006). p. 54.</ref> In October 1931, both Alcalá Zamora and his interior minister, [[Miguel Maura]], resigned, and Manuel Azaña became Prime Minister. Lerroux became alienated and his Radical Party switched to the opposition,<ref name="thomas47">Thomas (1961). p. 47.</ref> leaving Azaña dependent only on the socialists.<ref name="preston545">Preston (2006). pp. 54–55.</ref> Several agricultural strikes were put down by the authorities harshly.<ref>Preston (2006). p. 58.</ref> By the end of 1931, King Alfonso, in exile, stopped attempting to prevent an armed insurrection of monarchists in Spain.<ref>Thomas (1961). p. 60.</ref> Azaña declared that Spain had 'ceased to be Catholic'; although justifiable,<ref group="nb">According to Thomas (1961) p. 31., it was estimated that around two-thirds of Spaniards were not practising Catholics.</ref> this was politically unwise.<ref>Thomas (1961) p. 31.</ref> Spanish Catholics, if they were to oppose educational and religious reforms, were forced into opposition with the government.<ref name="thomas47"/>
▲Effective opposition was led by three groups. Firstly, by Catholic movements such as the [[Asociación Católica de Propagandistas]],<ref name="preston43">Preston (2006). p. 43.</ref> by whom smallholders were told to think of the republic as godless and communist.<ref name="preston44">Preston (2006). p. 44.</ref> In addition, there were members of organisations that had supported the monarchy, such as the [[Renovación Española]] and Carlists, who wished to see the new republic overthrown in a violent uprising.<ref name="preston44"/> The third group were outright [[Fascist]] organisations, among them supporters of the dictator's son, [[José Antonio Primo de Rivera]], who had close to overall control of fascism in Spain.<ref name="preston44">Preston (2006). p. 45.</ref> Press often denounced a foreign [[Jewish]]-[[Masonic]]-[[Bolshevik]] plot.<ref>Preston (2006). p. 49.</ref>
▲[[File:SalvadorDali-SoftConstructionWithBeans.jpg|thumb|right|Foreshadowing the conflict: [[Salvador Dalí]]'s ''[[Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War)]]'']]
In August 1932, there was an unsuccessful uprising by General [[José Sanjurjo]].<ref name="thomas62">Thomas (1961). p. 62.</ref> The aims of the insurrection were vague,<ref name="thomas62"/> and it quickly turned into a fiasco.<ref name="thomas63">Thomas (1961). p. 63.</ref> Whilst Socialists stood by Azaña, the left as a whole fractured, whilst the right united;<ref name="preston61"/> the Socialist Party headed to the political left.<ref name="thomas67">Thomas (1961). p. 67.</ref> Gil Robles set up a new party, the [[Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right]] ({{lang-es|Confederatión Espanola de Derechas Autónomas}}, CEDA) to contest the 1933 election, and tacitly embraced Fascism. It resulted in an overwhelming victory for the right, with the CEDA and the Radicals together 219 seats,<ref group="nb">Thomas (1961). p. 66. allocates 207 seats to the political right.</ref> they having spent far more on their election campaign than the Socialists, who campaigned alone.<ref>Preston (2006). pp. 63–65.</ref>
Between 1934 and 1936, Spain entered a period called the "black two years" ({{lang-es|bienio negro}}).<ref>Preston (2006). p. 66.</ref> Tensions rose in the period before the start of the war. The Socialist leadership began to propagate a revolutionary ideal.<ref name="preston67">Preston (2006). p. 67.</ref> Then President [[Niceto Alcalá-Zamora]] declined to invite the leader of the CEDA, Gil Robles, to form a government and instead invited the [[Radical Republican Party]]'s [[Alejandro Lerroux]] to do so.<ref name="preston67"/> The RRP, with the backing of CEDA, set about removing price controls, selling state favours and monopolies, and removing the land reforms, to the landowners considerable advantage. This created growing malnourishment in the south of Spain.<ref>Preston (2006). pp. 67–68.</ref>▼
▲Between 1934 and 1936, Spain entered a period called the "black two years"
The first anarchist protest came on 8 December 1933, and was crushed by force easily in most of Spain.<ref>Preston (2006). p. 68.</ref> Both Carlists and [[Alfonsist monarchist]]s continued to prepare.<ref name="thomas75"/> Some, however, turned their attention to the Fascist [[Falange Española]], under the leadership of José Antonio Primo de Rivera.<ref>Preston (2006). pp. 69–70.</ref> Open violence occurred in the streets of Spanish cities.<ref>Preston (2006). p. 70.</ref> Lerroux resigned in April 1934.<ref>Thomas (1961). p. 76.</ref> Parts of the Socialist Party attempted to prevent the move towards [[Bolshevism]] the rest of the party was taking, leading to ruptures within the party's structure.<ref>Preston (2006). p. 71.</ref> In September, the CEDA announced it would no longer support the RRP's minority government; it was replaced by a RRP cabinet that included three members of the CEDA.<ref>Thomas (1961). p. 78.</ref> A UGT general strike was unsuccessful in most of Spain.<ref>Preston (2006). p. 77.</ref> Months of retaliation and repression followed, torture was used on political prisoners.<ref>Thomas (1961). pp. 84–85.</ref> Robles once again prompted a cabinet collapse, and five members of Lerroux's new government were conceded to CEDA. Farm workers' wages were halved, and the military purged of republicanism members and reformed; those loyal to Robles were promoted – Franco was made Chief of Staff.<ref name="preston81">Preston (2006). p. 81.</ref>
CEDA turned its campaign chest over to army plotter [[Emilio Mola]]. Monarchist [[José Calvo Sotelo]] replaced CEDA's Gil Robles as the right's leading spokesman in parliament.<ref name="Preston1999"/>
==Military coup==
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