Session 10. Primo de Rivera.

Spanish Civil
War

SPANISH CIVILIZATION AND CULTURE

CEA BARCELONA GLOBAL CAMPUS

SUMMER 2007 PROGRAMME

Instructor: Victor Lapuente

e-mail: victor.lapuente@gmail.com

1
Today’s session will cover:

► Thelate Restoration crisis: Catalan and

Basque Nationalism

► Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera

► The Second Republic

► The Spanish Civil War

2
4 threats to the Restoration System:

► Ideological reactions: socialism,

anarchism
► Territorial reactions: Catalan and
Basque Nationalism

3
 Catalan Nationalism
► Atthe same time Catalan nationalism
–and less importantly the Basque-
starts to blossom. This is not
necessarily Republican but it does
represent an alternative to the
Restoration system.

4
 Catalonia as a ‘nation’ rather
than as a ‘region’
► The ‘desastre’ reinforced the feeling among
many Catalans that they had a separate
national identity and a different historical
destiny and that these were increasingly
incompatible with Castile.
► Some begin to identify with Anglo-Saxons
and Germans
► Refer to the ‘Semitic’ blood of the Castilians
and Andalusians, their ‘Muslim inheritance’
and their ‘African’ attitudes towards work
► Anti-bullfighting begins as early as 1901 –
still active today
5
 Catalanisme starts as cultural
phenomenon
► Renaixença – response to the disruption and
violence brought about by modernisation.

► Thepast becomes an escape route to avoid

confronting the problems of modernity – this
involves a historicist reconstruction of an
idealised past, focusing on the middle ages.

► Howwill this affect political nationalism

when it emerges later – how?
6
 Political Catalanism
► When Catalanism becomes political, there is
already a historiography built up, fruit of the
Renaixença

► Inother words, they had a pre-existing

definition of Catalan identity to work with,
already completed by cultural revivalists.

► But
how to ‘use’ the history moving forward
was the site of controversy…
7
Catalanisme – Broad Church but
intellectual by nature
►2 main sources – both believed in autonomy
for Catalonia. What do you see as the
difference?

► Moderate and conservative but not fully

democratic, and represented the Catalan
industrial bourgeoisie.
► Republican federalists, more democratic,
individualist and linked to the budding
worker movements, whose intellectual
leader was Francisco Pi i Maragall.
8
 Catalan bourgeoisie
► The most critical group in Catalonia -
They had bought into Spain as part of
an imperial project. Were not
inherently Catalan nationalists. Much
of the Catalan middle class still
depended on trade with Cuba and the
Philippines, and on protectionist trade
measures. After ’98, this important
lobby begins to drift away from
Madrid. 9
 Catalan Federalism
► Federalism was a ‘Catalan project’ –
administration needed to be reformed
and decentralized.
► Catalan bourgeoisie would regenerate
Spain from a politically resurgent
Catalonia – they would show Spain the
way, imposing their model on
‘backward’ Spain.
► They believed that federalism would
regenerate all the Spanish regions.
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 Two Basic Principles of
Catalanisme
► Rejection of a centralized Spanish
state, and the pushing for a
decentralized one. Convert other
regions and nationalities to their
decentralized caused.
► The hecho diferencial (fet diferencial).
The acceptance that Catalonia has
specific characteristics, different from
those of Spain - language, private law,
culture, common history, and general
cultural characteristics. 11
 Lliga Regionalista
► Lliga Regionalista – Catalan political
party. It was anti-restoration
corruption, and not independentist but
regionalist and regenerationist.
► They pressed for a constitutional
reform, to include decentralization,
democratic Senate elections, & near-
elimination of royal power over
parliament.
12
 Basque Nationalism
► The BC, together with Navarre and
rural Cat, was a stronghold of anti-
liberalist Carlism (a struggle primarily
over questions of male succession and
constitution) in the mid-19th century,
largely for religious reasons and due to
peasant resentment of urban areas.

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The Basque Country

14
15
‘Traditional’ Basque Country

► The pink section is now the region

called ‘the Basque Country’
► The green section is another Spanish
region called Navarre (which some
Navarrese consider Basque, while
others do not)
► The three yellow territories are French
Basque country.
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 Basque country
► Basque fueros abolished in 1876 at the end of
the final Carlist war (1873-1876)
► This directly contributed to the massive growth
of Basque industry, which until then had
industrialized more slowly compared with
Catalonia (opened up Basque Country to rest of
Spain economically, no customs barriers).
► BUT, in Basque countryside, the removal of
foral customs destroyed inefficient agricultural
industry. It was the sudden, drastic shock to
traditional life which created unease amongst
the middle-class bourgeoisie Basques who felt
squeezed from above by the centralista 17

oligarchies
 Basque nationalism
► Thus,
this was a defensive nationalism
based on fears created by radical
change.

► Rather than the inclusive Catalan

nationalism, this was exclusive; it was
a racial defense of the purity of the
Basque people and their culture and
extreme in its ties to the Vatican.
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 Sabina Arana y Goiri (1865-
1903)
► Few nationalisms can be said to be so
exclusively identified with one person.
► Bizkaya por su indepencia (1892)
► Becomes the inspiration for
independence for the Basque Country,
which for nationalists includes the
three provinces in Spain, three
provinces in France, and Navarre
(Spain).
19
 Arana and Basque
Nationalism
► Formulated BC’s first political program
► Coined its name
► Defined its geographical extent
► Founded its first political organization
► Wrote its anthem
► Designed its flag

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 Arana and Basque
Nationalism II
► Sabina’s ‘divine intervention’ – his
political conversion to independence
for Basque Country comes on Easter
Sunday 1882.
► Thus, the resurrection has special
meaning in Euskadi, and pays tribute
to the idea of the Basques as a
‘chosen’ people.
► Arana is a traditional man living in a
non-traditional world. Thus, his
nationalism was a neo-traditionalist 21
 Arana the Racialist
► Rather than encouraging the spread of the Basque
language, they chose to mark an ethnic boundary.
Language was not widespread enough to use as
cultural or nationalist marker. Instead, the idea is
to preserve sense of unique Basque racial purity.

► Immigrants called Maketos – term of racist abuse

meant to emphasize Basque purity as opposed to
the irreligiosity and immorality of the Spanish.

► Studies purported to show an unusually high % of

type O blood, distinctive cranial formations, hair
and eye coloring.
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 Arana the Racialist II
► This
is fed by the fact that people
thought Basque was unlearnable,
ethnically specific.

► The devil visited the Basque country to

learn the language and make
disciples. He tried for weeks, but was
defeated and returned to hell after
having learned no more of the
language than bai (yes) and ez (no).
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 Arana the Believer
► Basque civil society was far less
secularized than in Catalonia
► Advocated non-violent methods to
achieve his goal.
► Espoused Social Catholicism’s concern
for the poor and needy.
► Resented the materialistic attitude of
the bourgeoisie
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 Territorial question linked to
Religion
► He derived from Catholicism a large body of
thought which is still instilled in the Basque
Nationalist Party today.
► Religious basis of Arana’s program can be
found in the motto ‘God and the Old Law’
► So centralization meant a conspiracy to
deprive the Church of its hold over society
and dilute Catholic values of piety and
justice in the name of materialism and
avarice.
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 Arana and language
► Firstand foremost – race was always above
language in Arana’s nationalism.
► Learning the language was not ‘integration’
as in Catalonia. Because learning the
language did not necessarily mean changing
a state of mind and acquiring Basque
‘values’.
► Thus, a language revival could be a ‘threat’
to Basques, as an immigrant learning
Basque threatened the natives with moral
contamination. 26
 From Nationalism to Politics
► Originalterm in Basque for the Basque
Country is ‘Euskal-Herria’. Refers to
the of the people who speak Basque.

► Arana creates the new word ‘Euskadi’,

which changes the meaning from the
land of the Basque ‘speakers’ to the
Land of the Basques.
27
 Basque Nationalist Party
► Eusko Alderdi Jeltzalea (EAJ) (in Basque)
► Partido Nacionalista Vasco (PNV) (in Spanish)

► One of the first Christian Democratic parties in

Europe

► The party was created in 1895 by Sabino as a

Catholic conservative. He pledged to restore self-
government for the Basques.

► When it was formed, minimal bloodlines were

established for members - they had to prove
Basque ancestry by having a minimum number of
Basque surnames. 28
► Over time, Arana becomes less independent
 Arana’s legacy
► Arana left a legacy of contradictions
and ambivalences that sowed the
seeds of future nationalist
fragmentation.
► As a consequence, each of the
opposing forces within the nationalist
field claimed to be the true inheritor of
his ideal
► no matter how moderate or radical,
anti-capitalist or rapprochement with
industrialists, or on language or 29
► The‘other’ two anti-Restoration
system influences:

► Socialism
► Anarchism

A brief note on those two:

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 Socialism in Spain
► Socialism- Any of various theories or
systems of social organization in which the
means of producing and distributing goods
is owned collectively or by a centralized
government that often plans and controls
the economy.
► Socialist party (PSOE) formed in 1879, and
its trade union the UGT in 1880.
► Both were inspired by Pablo Iglesias, and
was hostile to bourgeois Republicanism.
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 Socialism in Spain II
► The importance of the PSOE lay less in its
power in representing organized labor, than
in its standing as the heir of the Republicans
as critics of a ‘feudal monarchy’.
► Moral alternative to a corrupt system.
► Most of support found in the north industrial
areas, and mines of Asturias.
► Their meeting places (las Casas del Pueblo)
would educate the working classes, and will
promote abstinence from alcohol…

32
 Anarchism
► The political philosophy advocating a
libertarian society without hierarchy,
based on mutual aid and voluntary
cooperation.
► Anarchism historically gained the most
support and influence in Spain,
especially in the seventy or so years
before Francisco Franco's victory in
the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939.
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 Anarchism II
► During the late 19th century, the success of the
anarchist movement was sporadic. They would
organize a strike, and ranks would swell. Usually,
repression by police reduced the numbers again,
but at the same time, further radicalized many
members.
► This action/repression/action cycle helped lead to
an era of mutual violence in the late 19th century,
where anarchist "pistoleros" and police gunmen
were both responsible for political assassinations.
Anarchists vs. State
► Strong (an at times violent) anticlericalism.
Anarchists vs. Church
► Result - more divided society. 34
 Anarchism III
► In the 20th century, the movement
gained speed with the rise of anarcho-
syndicalism and the creation of the
huge libertarian union, the CNT.
► General strikes became common, and
large portions of the Spanish working
class adopted anarchist ideas.

35
 Primo Dictatorship 1923-30
► In
order to solve the ‘problem of the
nation’, the military Captain General of
Catalonia, Miguel Primo de Rivera
(1870-1930), proclaimed himself
dictator of Spain in 1923, with the
authorization of the king. 

► What is this called?

36
 Primo Dictatorship 1923-30
► Establishes a Military Directory
(although two years later he becomes
a government of civil politicians) and
suspends the civil Constitution. 
► The Dictatorship welcomed with
enthusiasm by almost everybody
(including the King, and the Lliga
Regionalista in CAT). 
► It was also initially successful in
restoring public order.
37
 Primo Dictatorship 1923-30
► Public work projects: railroads,
highways, marshes, ports and
reforestation, thus ending the jobs
crisis. 
► Also the Banco de Crédito Industrial
and the Banco de Crédito Local were
established, stimulated the small
businesses and savings. 

38
 Primo Dictatorship 1923-30
► The system of collection of taxes
improves
► The national budget is balanced.
► Simultaneously, general Primo de
Rivera manages to pacify the north of
Morocco after two years military
(1925-1927). 

39
 Primo Dictatorship 1923-30
► BUT - All this is coming on top of a
culturally homogenizing, restrictive
and authoritarian government.
► Despite the advances of the
Dictatorship, the intellectuals, liberal
and the revolutionaries complained
the persistent suppression of
constitutional guarantees

40
 Effects of Primo Dictatorship in
CAT
► Catalan flag and language and banned
► Catalanist organizations dissolved,
meetings prohibited
► Centralization of Spanish curriculum
► Dissolves the Mancommunitat (1925)
► Changed street names
► Banned language’s use on shops
► Becomes a model for Franco later on…

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 Primo Dictatorship 1923-30
► The Great Depression of 1929
ended the prosperity of the Directory
(now public neither happy with social
reforms or economy)
► King Alfonso XIII, fearing the future of
the monarchy, rescinds his support of
the dictator and, subsequently, Primo
de Rivera is forced to resign his
position in 1930. 
42
Second Republic (1931-1936)
► In the elections of April of 1931,
although the monarchic parties obtained a
great majority in the rural countryside, the
coalition of republican and socialist parties
won in the cities and Catalonia. 
► The new government declares a Spanish
Federal Republic (1931-1936)
► In order to avoid a civil war, the King leaves
the country on the April 14th 1931 for
France. The King dies later in Rome in 1941.
43
2nd
Republic (1931)
► The Spanish Republic was established in
1931 when King Alfonso XIII decided to
"suspend the use of (his) Royal
Prerogatives" and leave the country.
► Weakened and discredited by many years of
colonial war against the Riffs in Morocco
(costing over $800 million), and in the
throes of the world economic depression,
the monarchy was no longer a viable form of
bourgeois rule, and was superceded first by
a bourgeois republic and then by Fascism.
44
► The new regime introduced ‘real’
democracy. What did this mean? …. in a
country governed by oligarchs, a privileged
church & oppressive army. This
represented the possibility of true
change in power structure.
► Republic promised modernity & social
justice. High expectations and hopes.
► The farmers of the south expected a land
redistribution in order to improve their life
standards.
45
► For the (industrial) working class it meant an
improvement in life conditions through
increment of wages, union rights and more
bargaining ability.
► For others, Republic implied social and cultural
reform that would give rights to the minorities,
recognize the minority rights of historical
communities and would give power and
education to regular people.
► For its supporters it implied a change, a
historical movement (transformation) since
power and wealth would be redistributed from 46
 The opponents:
► Land and company owners were afraid in
front of a labor cost increase and of a
legislation that impose bargaining and union
rights.
► The conservative army officials thought that
the regional autonomy would be the
beginning of the end: Spain would break,
and they could not allow that. They were
also worried for a more than necessary
reform of the army, at least in the official
scale.
► For many of the conservatives, democracy
was not only against their interest but they
47
thought it was also the anti-Spain.
 Session 14. Republic
Three main reforms:
► Transformation of a non representative
corrupted political system to a pluralist
democracy
► Decentralization
► Social/political reforms in order to
modernize Spanish society. From a top down
perspective. What sort of perspective is this
one?
► Let me give you some examples.

48
 Session 14. Republic
On the political side:
► The new Constitution abolished the Senate,
which was not representative and created a
unicameral Parliament.
► At the same time, the electoral rules –the
way to transform votes into seats- was
reformed in order to guarantee the practice
of the democracy.
► Women could be in the Parliament and also
could vote (which for some was not the
wisest decision. Debates by Clara
Campoamor and Victoria Kent). 49
 Building a new Spain or Disintegrating
Spain
Decentralization:

► In 1931, after the elections that caused the exile of

Alfonso XIII of Spain and gave the local majority to
his party Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC),
Francesc Macià proclaimed the Free Catalan
Republic in Barcelona.

► Members of the provisional Spanish government

flew to Barcelona and assured Macià that as soon
as the Constitution was passed, the Spanish
Parliament would discuss an Statute of Autonomy
for Catalonia.

► Macià agreed to later negotiate partial autonomy

within the new Spanish Republic.
50
 Social/political Reforms of 1st
Gov’t of 2nd Republic 1931-33
► Made up of Republican left and the Socialists, led
by Manuel Azaña, first President of 2nd Republic.
Their aim was not merely reform or establishment
of a new democratic consensus, but rather paying
off old scores and building a sectarian leftist
regime.
► The coalition had four goals:
► a) reform and reduction of the army
► b) separation of church and state and sharp
restriction of Catholic rights as well as privileges
► c) reform of the unitary structure of the Spanish
state to permit Catalan regional autonomy
► d) broad social and economic reforms
51
Why didn’t 2nd Republic reforms
work out?
► 1) No Money - The inherited budget by
Primo, made it even harder to finance the
reforms. If this was not enough, in 1931 did
not rain much, hence difficulties arose for
those poor in the rural areas. Redistribution
was even more urgent.
► The little industry that Spain had was also
hit by the Depression. Iron and steel were
especially hit as no-one had the money to
pay for the products. Iron production fell by
33% and steel by 50%.
52
 Why didn’t 2nd Republic reforms
work out?
► Unemployment in both agriculture and
industry rose and those in work had to put
up with a cut in wages as the economy
struggled to survive the Depression.
► The Republic faced losing the support of
those whose support it desperately needed –
the working class.

► 2)Weak state - Another important inherited

problem (was not only from the Restoration)
was the scarce penetration of the state in
the society – contrary to Germany or France.
53
 Session 14. Republic
► Bourgeoisie and land owners are also
a problem: former caciques and
industrial bourgeoisie don’t believe in
the Republic since it allows the
entrance of socialists in the
government

► Working class felt it was their moment

and obviously business owners did not
like that
54
► Even on the left the social base support of the
Republic was notably fragmented: (scarce
urban middle classes), industry workers, small
peasants, landless peasants … all of those had
different interests and sometimes confronted.

► One of the main problems of the Republic was

of public order. Casas Viejas (agrarian
reformers repressed). The Agrarian Law of 1932
- decreed to calm the anarchists, distributed
land (large estates) between the farmers of
Andalusia and Extremadura (angered the
proprietors). 

► Such social division implied political division

inside the Republic: from conservative 55

republicans, pushing for a modernization of the

 Fascism
► A political regime based on strong centralized
government, suppressing through violence any
criticism or opposition of the regime, and exalting
nation, state, or religion above the individual.
► a form of ultranationalism espousing a myth of
national rebirth and marked by extreme elitism,
mobilization of the masses, exaltation of hierarchy
and subordination, oppression of women and an
embrace of violence and war as virtues
► "Like you", said Mussolini to the Bolsheviks, "we
consider necessary a centralized and unitary state
which imposes iron discipline on all persons, with
this difference, that you reach this conclusion by
way of the concept of class, and we by way of the
concept of nation."
56
 The Reactionaries

► Jose Maria Gil Robles General Sanjurjo Jose

Antonio
Primo de Rivera
57
 The Reactionaries
► GilRobles formed the rightist coalition CEDA
(Confederación Española de Derechas
Autónomas) which won the elections of
November 1933
► Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera - in 1933, he
founded Falange Española ("Spanish
Phalanx"), a nationalist party inspired by the
Fascist ideology.
► Falange - traditionalistic, revolutionary and
Catholic and chose to be called a
movement instead of political party. It was
anti-capitalist and anti-Marxist.  58
 Conservative stage 1933-
6
► In 1932, General Sanjurjo led a small
group of monarchists, landowners,
clericalists and army officers in a coup
against the Republic, but lacking support
from the major forces of the ruling class,
it failed.

► Elections were held in November, 1933.

In this election, the right wing won a
majority of support and the largest party
in the parliament (known as the Cortes),
was the Ceda lead by Gil Robles, which
halted or reversed many of the earlier 59
 CEDA
► CEDA was a coalition of groups under the
leadership of Jose Maria Gil Robles, a law
professor from Salamanca who had headed
Popular Action (Accion Popular), an
influential Catholic political youth
movement.
► CEDA never succeeded in establishing a
working-class base. Its electoral strength lay
in the Catholic middle class and in the rural
population. Gil Robles was primarily
interested in 1932 in working for a 60

settlement favorable to the church within

► This right-wing coalition (formed after 1933
elections) did not hide its desire for an
authoritarian & corporatist to end the crisis in
Spain, and created a mass party in order to win
the elections in defense of the ‘prosecuted’
church.
► The new right wing government immediately
over-turned all of the changes brought in by the
Azaña government. This angered many but
especially the Catalans who had their privileges
withdrawn. GENERALITAT SUSPENDED.
► This was a serious error of judgment as the
Catalans and Basques had supported the
government in the elections. The way ahead for
Robles became clear to many – an attack on the61
left wing parties of Spain.
 Revolt in Asturias
► Left wing responds to defeat with
strikes and acts of sabotage and
terrorism against the government.
► In Asturias - full-scale insurrection--in
one place, declaring a Soviet Republic.
The government called in the Foreign
Legion and Moorish Regulares,
commanded by Generals Goded and
Franco.
62
 Last stage of the Republic
1936 -1939
► Spain appeared to be heading for all out chaos. In a
last minute attempt to avoid serious trouble, a
general election was called for February 1936.
In this election, the Popular Front won and Azaña,
once again became prime minister.
► Popular Front – broad coalition of several left-wing
parties which presented a joint slate in 1936
elections:

The Left Republicans, the PSOE, the Republican Left

of Catalonia (Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya),
the communists, a number of smaller regional and
left-wing parties, and the anarchists, who had
boycotted previous elections as a matter of
principle, joined to present a single leftist slate to 63
the electorate (Popular Front).
 Last stage of the Republic
1936 -1939
► The rhetoric during the campaign in 36
promoted the vision that Spain was divided
into two blocks. The two Spains?
► The propaganda from Gil Robles was: For
God and for the fatherland, Conquest or
death.
► Left is based in big cities, industrial areas
and the south and southwest, where the
agrarian unemployment and the demand for
a best partition of land.
► The Popular Front (left wing coalition) won
the election with a known picture …WHICH
PICTURE IS THAT? 64
65
66
67
68
 Primo de Rivera clip
► Takea look at the clip of Jose Antonio Primo
de Rivera:

► http://www.youtube
.com/watch?v=Z-979vsPYZk

► What three divisions does he speak of?

► What do you think is the best way to solve
them?
69
 Session 14. Republic

► The 1936 elections return the left to power

(Popular Front), and immediately annulled
most of the laws produced in previous years.
► However, the government of the Popular
Front was a farce after the socialists
withdrew their support from it; more and
more public disturbances occurred and the
government had clearly lost control of
Spain.
► Increased tension between political factions.
70
 Slide to War
► The Spanish Popular Front was to be
only an electoral coalition. Its goal was
not to form a government but to
defeat the right.
► Largo Caballero made it clear that the
Socialists would not cooperate in any
government that did not adopt their
program for nationalization, a policy as
which threatened to break Spain in
two and to provoke a civil war.
71
 Slide to War II
► Azaña formed his minority
government, but the front's victory
was taken as the signal for the start of
the left's long-awaited revolution,
already anticipated by street riots,
church burnings, and strikes.
► Workers' councils, which undertook to
circumvent the slow-grinding wheels of
the constitutional process, set up
governments parallel to the traditional
bodies. 72
 Session 14. Republic
► Organized confrontation - communist red shirts
and the falangist blue shirts.
► The government closed the falange and jailed
Primo de Rivera (son).  Guardia de Asalto
(security force) were sent by agents in
Republic to assassinate Calvo Sotelo (ally
of Primo).
► Right wing politicians and their supporters
believed that they were now in serious danger.
They wanted to put their faith in a military
dictatorship.
► the monarchic group Renovación Española
(Spanish Renovation) abandons parliament
permanently, blaming the government of
complicity in the murder of Calvo Sotelo.  Gil
73

Robles, head of CEDA accused the government

 Slide to War III
► Calvo Sotelo's death was a signal to the
army to act on the pretext that the civilian
government had allowed the country to fall
into disorder.
► The army issued a pronunciamiento.
► General Franco assumed control of the
military. He took control of Spanish Morocco
after overthrowing the civilian government
there. His next target was to invade
mainland Spain, establish a military
government there and rid the country of all
those involved in left wing politics. The left
would have to fight for survival. The civil war
started in July 1936. 74
 Slide to War IV
►A coup was expected, however, and the
urban police and the workers' militia loyal to
the government put down revolts by army
garrisons in Madrid and Barcelona. Navy
crews spontaneously purged their ships of
officers.
► The army and the left rejected the eleventh-
hour efforts of Indalecio Prieto (who had
succeeded Azaña as prime minister) to
arrive at a compromise.
75
 Seeds of War

► July18th 1936, the army, the Civil

Guard, Carlists, Phalange, republican
JONS declared in revolt opened against
the government of the Republic.

76