From 1936 and 1939, the Spanish Civil War had taken place. As a consequence, about 500,000 people died, and the Nationalist had taken power with Francisco Franco as the new Spanish leader. The 17th of July of 1936, war had erupted in Spain rising tensions between the Republicans and the Nationalists, leading to military conflicts through out Spanish territory. Consequently, foreign aid had been provided to both sides, including countries such as Germany, and the Soviet Union. The divisions of Spain, Failure of the Popular Front as well as the Failure of the Second Republic were essential causes for the Spanish Civil War to erupt.
The division in regions and political organizations began to raise tension among Spanish people and the different political parties. There was a difference in levels of industrialization and agricultural methods amongst the country. According to Anthony Beevor, a British historian, “The genesis of the conflict lays in the way the Reconquista of Spain from the Moors had shaped the social structure of the country and the attitudes of the Castilian conquerors.” Meaning, that the division in Spain had begun to embrace since the time of the Moors migration to Spain. Additionally, the division in political organizations had become stronger. There were extreme right winged parties such as the “Falange” as well as extreme left wing parties such as “Federacion Anarquista Iberica” which were never going to get to an agreement because of their opposing ideologies. Furthermore, between 1931 and 1932, the Popular Front had failed causing a division among left wing parties and made political parties so entrenched that no democratic process could reconcile them. Originally, the Popular Front intended to establish a political cooperation of left wing parties to prevent vote splitting. However, the Popular Front failure was not enough to put the Nationalists in power since the Second Republic had taken place.
Cited: "The Spanish Civil War." Crisis Magazine RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2013. . "The Underlying Causes of the Spanish Civil War." Books4Spain Blog RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2013. . Word Count: 479