Second Spanish Republic: Key Events, Reforms, and Civil War
Key Events Leading to the Second Spanish Republic
- Central Events:
- The government of Canalejas
- The Tragic Week in Madrid
- After the Second Republic
- The municipal elections on April 12, 1931 (Communists)
- During the Spanish Civil War (Zaragoza, Seville)
Questions and Answers About the Republic
Spain’s Interest in Morocco
a) What interest did Spain have in Morocco? Mines.
The Coup of 1923
b) What situation led to the coup in 1923?
Measures Under Primo de Rivera
c) What were the main measures under Primo de Rivera? He prohibited political parties, superseded the constitution, reduced freedoms, and suppressed the Catalan Commonwealth.
Primo de Rivera’s Resignation
d) Why did Primo de Rivera resign?
Transition to the Second Republic
From Monarchy to Republic
a) How did Spain go from a monarchy to a republic?
The proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic consisted of the establishment on April 14, 1931, of the new republican political regime that succeeded the constitutional monarchy of Alfonso XIII de Borbón, which had been “delegitimized” by allowing the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera (1923-1930) and had failed in his attempt to return to “constitutional normality” with the dictablanda of General Berenguer (1930-1931).
The Pact of San Sebastian
b) Who signed the Pact of San Sebastian?
Representatives of all the republican parties, with the exception of the Spanish Federal Party, agreed on a strategy to end the monarchy of Alfonso XIII and proclaim the Second Spanish Republic. In October 1930, the two socialist organizations, the PSOE and the UGT, joined the Pact in Madrid.
Key Points of the 1931 Constitution
- Spain as an integral state, but with the possibility of political decentralization.
- Universal male suffrage and direct suffrage; for the first time in 1933, women exercised their right to vote.
- Legislative power is attributed to the Cortes, which are elected every four years.
- Executive power corresponds to the government (elected every four years) and the President of the Republic (elected for six years), who had the power to dissolve the Cortes and appoint the President of the Government.
Reforms Undertaken by the Republic
What reforms were undertaken by the republic?
Military, religious, agrarian, reform of the centralist state (territorial), political, educational, and cultural reforms.
Elections of 1933 and 1936 and the Civil War
Election Results
a) Who won the elections in 1933 and in 1936?
In 1933, the conservative party won the elections.
In 1936, El Frente Popular (Republicans, Socialists, Communists) won the election.
International Context
b) In what international context can we place this?
Root Causes of the Civil War
c) What were the root causes of the outbreak of the Civil War?
The death of the right-wing leader Calvo Sotelo accelerated the military confrontation, and the troops of the colonial army revolted in Africa on July 17, and on the 18th, it spread throughout the peninsula.
Definitions
Popular Front
They were a group of people that supported a coalition formed by left-wing Republicans.
CEDA
A right-wing group that won the elections in 1933, formed part of the conservative biennium, and its leader was Gil Robles.
Tragic Week
A week where the Riffians defeated the Spanish troops in the Barranco del Lobo. The sending of reservists provoked a popular protest movement in Barcelona.
International Brigades
A group of volunteers from all over the world who supported the Republicans.
Conservative Biennium
It took place from 1933 to 1936, governed by a center-right government.