Analyse the causes and results of the Spanish Civil War.
From 1936-1939, Spain had undergone through turmoil and destruction as they plunge into an inevitable internal incident that wreaked havoc across the country militarily, economically, politically and socially. The Spanish Civil War had begun. There are many causes to as why the war ignited and the list of results is not that negligible either. Causes such as the unpopularity of the monarch, Nationalism, the Catholic Church versus the Army, Capitalism versus Communism, etcetera. The results include from Hitler’s position in Europe to the revolutionary paintings of Picasso. This essay will highlight some of the causes and effects of the Spanish Civil War.
One cause for the civil war was the corruptness and the unpopularity of the Spanish Monarch, Alfonso XIII, whose decisions made Spain fall under a scale of poverty not seen in other parts of Western Europe. It had reached a point where the people experienced extreme episodes of starvation. It was said that ‘two million agricultural workers in Spain toiled on others’ turf, with 50,000 gentry owning half of the land’ (Pierre Broué and Emile Témime, p34). This made the Spaniards ponder on the other forms of government that might be able to raise them from their current situation including communism, socialism even considering the idea of being an anarchist type of country.
In addition, Alfonso XIII appointed General Primo de Rivera to take control of Spain. Primo de Rivera ruled as a dictator and for short term he seemed to have been doing well introducing public works and irrigation also ending the Moroccan rebellion by 1925. However Primo de Rivera’s projects subjected Spain to huge amounts of debts resulting to the collapse of the peseta. The Great Wall Street Crash in 1929 which greatly affected the whole of Europe sinking Spain’s economy more to the bottom. Primo de Rivera’s ability to put things