Account for Spanish Civil War

Essay by Stix October 2006

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There were several reasons that account for the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. From the political climate following world war one to the agrarian problem in the south. Since early modern times, Spain had a weak manufacturing base and its agriculture did not have great productivity. These problems were highlighted in the nineteenth century when there was an industrial revolution in areas such as Catalonia and the Basque Country. These areas were going to have a significant impact on the subsequent outbreak of civil war. Another factor that made Spain weak and angered its public was that in the latter part of this century Spain had lost its colonies in Cuba, the Philippines and other countries in the Caribbean. There was a problem with Spain's autarky policy as she had no involvement with foreign countries that meant little foreign trade and therefore limited profits. It is clear to see that the period 1880 - 1920 was a very troublesome time for the constitutional monarchy.

The tax base was so low that conditions for peasants continued to be poor while government inefficiency led to higher taxes. The taxes and low productivity in Spain's agriculture led to an unequal distribution of wealth. Evidently the south was poor while Barcelona had a thriving textile industry and the northern Basque region had a strong iron and steel industry. In my view all these problems pushed Spain from a struggling power in the nineteenth century to even greater problems in the early twentieth century. This would eventually lead to a brutal and bloody civil war.

In 1921 King Alfonso XIII sent an army to Morocco to end a rebellion involving Spanish interests. The army returned home with great losses and casualties as the army was defeated at Annual. After this hugely embarrassing defeat the...