Spanish+Civil+War

__Spanish Civil War__  Prior to World War I, Spain was a politically unstable country under a constitutional monarchy. Throughout the country, there were strikes, political assassinations, and separatist movements. After WWI, conditions in Spain had only grown worse; the country was on the verge of a civil war. In 1923, General Miguel Primo de Rivera led a revolt and formed a military dictatorship. Rivera, who was supported by the military, kept King Alfonso XIII as a figurehead in the government. By 1930, the military no longer supported Rivera, so he resigned. After the abdication of the king in 1931, Spain became a republic. The new leaders of the Spanish republic made many reforms. They established freedom of religion, separate church and state issues, and put the government in charge of education. the government leaders took land from the Catholic church and gave it to peasants. Reforms for better working conditions and wages were put into effect. These reforms caused the Spanish conservatives, or the Falange, to take action. In February 1936, the Spanish Popular Front won a major election. The Popular Front was a combination of left-winged parties that were against fascism. Rightists were put into jail; the Falange responded by terrorist acts. In July, army uprisings led by Franco's Nationalists, started in Spanish Morocco, the Balearic and Canary Islands, and in Spain were the start of the three year long civil war that followed. The Falangists, led by Francisco Franco, called themselves the Nationalists. The supporters of the republic were the Loyalists, or Republicans. Germany and Italy, both Fascist countries, sent fully equipped military support to the Nationalists. Italy sent 50,000 troops to the Nationalists. The Soviet Union sent planes, technicians, and military advisers to the Loyalists. France, Great Britain, and the United States also sent aid to the republic. However, the help the republic received wasn't nearly as much as Franco and the Nationalists received from his Fascist allies. President Roosevelt, in the midst of the Great Depression, put into effect the Spanish Embargo Act. In September 1936, the French and British governments suggested the forming of a nonintervention committee. All 27 countries that took part unanimously agreed not to intervene in the Spanish Civil War. They decided to put into place a blockade that would stop the flow of troops and supplies for both sides. The blockade stopped supplies from getting to the Loyalists but did little to stop Germany and Italy from sending more troops and supplies to Franco and the Nationalists. On March 28, 1939, The Nationalist forces defeated the Loyalists by capturing Madrid and Barcelona. Franco then took control, forming a fascist government after Benito Mussolini in Italy. Franco became the dictator of Spain with unlimited power. The government--Franco--made all other political parties illegal, imprisoned and executed thousands of Loyalists, and abolished free elections and most civil rights. It is estimated that half a million people were killed in the Civil War, while another half a million starved or died from disease.

