Key Historical Events and Concepts Explained
Economy & Society
Economy: The oil crisis caused inflation and increased unemployment.
Society: This crisis led to social unrest and strikes. Illegal trade unions were formed.
Spanish Transition to Democracy
Transition to Government: The restoration of a democratic system in Spain was led by King Juan Carlos I. Carlos Arias Navarro was the prime minister.
Measures Taken: The Law for Political Reform, democratic elections, an amnesty, and the legalization of political parties were implemented.
Key Treaties
Treaties of San Ildefonso: These treaties made Spain and France allies against the British Empire in 1796 and 1800.
Treaty of Fontainebleau: Manuel Godoy, Carlos IV’s prime minister, signed with France, allowing French troops to cross Spain on their way to Portugal.
Embrace of Vergara: This treaty ended the Carlist War.
Political Instability
Pronunciamientos: These were many successful and failed uprisings when army officials sought a change of government.
The Pragmatic Sanction: This changed the law in favor of Isabel, but many absolutists preferred Fernando’s brother, Carlos de Borbón.
Caciquismo: In rural areas, powerful individuals called caciques used intimidation and violence to force the local population to vote a certain way.
Pucherazo: In cities, where caciques had less power, election results were manipulated fraudulently.
Imperialism and Global Events
Imperialism: This is the policy of expanding a country’s domination over other regions.
Berlin Conference: Colonial expansion during 1884-1885 led to conflict among the great powers, which this conference aimed to resolve.
April Theses: This program, proposed by Lenin, consisted of Russia’s withdrawal from the war, the redistribution of land, control of factories, autonomy for national minorities, and rule by soviets.
Soviets: These were councils of workers, peasants, and soldiers with their own armed militias, led by Lenin.
Lenin: He was the leader of the soviets, returned from exile, proposed the April Theses, which led to a popular insurrection. He then joined the Petrograd Soviet and began the October Revolution.
Economic Crisis and Recovery
Hyperinflation: This is a substantial rise in the general level of prices related to an increase in the volume of money, resulting in the loss of currency value.
Plan Dawes: In 1924, the United States lent money to Germany so it could pay reparations to the Allies, who could then pay their debts to the United States.
New Deal: President Franklin launched this program in 1933, establishing greater state intervention in the economy: public works, farming subsidies, improved working conditions, and restructuring of the financial system.
World War II
Rome-Berlin Axis: This coalition was formed in 1936 between Italy and Germany. An agreement formulated by Italy’s foreign minister linked the two fascist countries.
Anti-Comintern Pact: This agreement was concluded first between Germany and Japan (1936) and then between Italy, Germany, and Japan (1937), directed against the Communist International but, by implication, specifically against the Soviet Union.
Danzig Corridor: This was the pretext over which World War II began. In March 1939, Adolf Hitler demanded the cession of Danzig and the creation of extraterritorial German highways across the corridor connecting to East Prussia. Poland refused these demands.
Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact: This pact was signed in 1939 to ensure the neutrality of the USSR. The pact included a secret agreement to divide Poland between the two powers.
Blitzkrieg: This was a movement made in the Axis offensive during the early months of the war when Germans launched a massive and highly successful campaign on the west of Poland, Scandinavia, France, and the Low Countries.
New Order: This was a policy imposed by the Nazis of economic exploitation and political repression in all the territories that they occupied.
Concentration Camp: Members of the Nazi assault forces sacked Jewish synagogues and homes, and those arrested were sent to these camps for exploitation, working until death.
Final Solution: This was the mass extermination of the Jews in gas chambers and cremation ovens.