Episode 242 - Two Spains

Today I finally get to some of the real-deal fighting as the first two months of the war sees the balance of strength already turn against the Republic.    Bibliography for this episode:  Preston, Paul A People Betrayed: A History of Corruption, Political Incompetence, and Social Division in Modern Spain 1874-2018 William Collins 2020 Jackson, Gabriel The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931-39 Princeton University Press 1965 Preston, Paul The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution, and Revenge Harper Perennial 2006 Thomas, Hugh The Spanish Civil War Modern Library 2001 Beevor, Antony The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 Penguin Books 2006    Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

With Spain split between warring zones that by the late summer of 1936 would each function as coherent entities, the battlelines were set. Which means today I am taking a look at the internal conditions of each zone to establish where each side stood as the big battles approached.    Bibliography for this episode:  Preston, Paul A People Betrayed: A History of Corruption, Political Incompetence, and Social Division in Modern Spain 1874-2018 William Collins 2020 Jackson, Gabriel The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931-39 Princeton University Press 1965 Preston, Paul The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution, and Revenge Harper Perennial 2006 Thomas, Hugh The Spanish Civil War Modern Library 2001 Beevor, Antony The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 Penguin Books 2006    Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

After the initial shock of the uprising had passed, Republican forces mobilized to contain the military uprising.    Bibliography for this episode:  Preston, Paul A People Betrayed: A History of Corruption, Political Incompetence, and Social Division in Modern Spain 1874-2018 William Collins 2020 Jackson, Gabriel The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931-39 Princeton University Press 1965 Preston, Paul The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution, and Revenge Harper Perennial 2006 Thomas, Hugh The Spanish Civil War Modern Library 2001 Beevor, Antony The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 Penguin Books 2006    Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

The Spanish Civil War was kicked off by a massive army uprising across the country, which turned all of Spain into a battlefield for the first weeks of the conflict.    Bibliography for this episode:  Preston, Paul A People Betrayed: A History of Corruption, Political Incompetence, and Social Division in Modern Spain 1874-2018 William Collins 2020 Jackson, Gabriel The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931-39 Princeton University Press 1965 Preston, Paul The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution, and Revenge Harper Perennial 2006 Thomas, Hugh The Spanish Civil War Modern Library 2001 Beevor, Antony The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 Penguin Books 2006    Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

The final six months leading up to the Spanish Civil War kicked off with the electoral triumph of that nation's Popular Front coalition. But this time around the Reactionary element of Spain was not about to give the new government even the opportunity of governing. The nation sank into chaos as the political right-wing withdrew its support for the Republic and the army began plotting a massive uprising.    Bibliography for this episode:  Preston, Paul A People Betrayed: A History of Corruption, Political Incompetence, and Social Division in Modern Spain 1874-2018 William Collins 2020 Jackson, Gabriel The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931-39 Princeton University Press 1965 Preston, Paul The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution, and Revenge Harper Perennial 2006 Thomas, Hugh The Spanish Civil War Modern Library 2001   Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

The first two years of the Second Spanish Republic were marked by a great burst of reformist energy after years of stagnation. The changes made though sparked a conservative reaction that would in turn dominate the next two, and set the stage for the proponents of the New and Old Spains to be hopelessly polarized against each other.    Bibliography for this episode:  Preston, Paul A People Betrayed: A History of Corruption, Political Incompetence, and Social Division in Modern Spain 1874-2018 William Collins 2020 Jackson, Gabriel The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931-39 Princeton University Press 1965 Preston, Paul The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution, and Revenge Harper Perennial 2006 Thomas, Hugh The Spanish Civil War Modern Library 2001 Evans, Danny Revolution and the State: Anarchism in the Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 AK Press 2020 Payne, Stanley G. Fascism in Spain 1923-1977 University of Wisconsin Press 1999   Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

The establishment of the Second Republic's represented an acknowledgement that Spain had changed greatly, and that reforms had been long overdue. The new state though was not without controversy, and even from those early days its opponents would be working to undermine its work.    Bibliography for this episode:  Preston, Paul A People Betrayed: A History of Corruption, Political Incompetence, and Social Division in Modern Spain 1874-2018 William Collins 2020 Jackson, Gabriel The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931-39 Princeton University Press 1965 Preston, Paul The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution, and Revenge Harper Perennial 2006 Thomas, Hugh The Spanish Civil War Modern Library 2001 Evans, Danny Revolution and the State: Anarchism in the Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 AK Press 2020   Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

Today I take a look at some of the basic conditions found across the regions of Spain and the big political player around in 1931. Also covered are the immediate events that led to the Second Republic's foundation and some of the happenings during its first months.    Bibliography for this episode:  Preston, Paul A People Betrayed: A History of Corruption, Political Incompetence, and Social Division in Modern Spain 1874-2018 William Collins 2020 Jackson, Gabriel The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931-39 Princeton University Press 1965 Preston, Paul The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution, and Revenge Harper Perennial 2006 Thomas, Hugh The Spanish Civil War Modern Library 2001 Evans, Danny Revolution and the State: Anarchism in the Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 AK Press 2020   Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

The overview of Spain leading up to the Second Republic continues as I cover the turbulent period from 1833-1931. Monarchs and governments would rise and fall, civil and foreign wars would be fought, but rarely would a political order manage to last more than a decade or so.    Bibliography for this episode:  Preston, Paul A People Betrayed: A History of Corruption, Political Incompetence, and Social Division in Modern Spain 1874-2018 William Collins 2020 Jackson, Gabriel The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931-39 Princeton University Press 1965 Preston, Paul The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution, and Revenge Harper Perennial 2006 Thomas, Hugh The Spanish Civil War Modern Library 2001   Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]

Today marks the start of the Spanish Civil War miniseries, and true to form I'm going to do some table setting. Today I introduce the conflict, why it was important, and focus in on Spain's imperial experience to explain the long-term conditions that made Spain so unstable.    Bibliography for this episode:  Kamen, Henry Empire: How Spain Became a World Power 1492-1763 Perennial 2004 Elliott, J.H. Imperial Spain 1469-1716 Penguin 2002 Thomas, Hugh The Spanish Civil War Modern Library 2001   Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected]