DU History Buffs: What was Spain like before its civil war?

[Taverner]

Worried we are on a repeat course...

[LSK]

1. it was like Spanish and stuff???

:hide:

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. Well, it was a lot taller. And it wore dresses. Lots of dresses.

[rockymountaindem]

3. Not like this

There was chronic violence and instability in Spain for years before the war broke out. There were also far more fault lines of both the regional and political nature than exist in the modern US. There were regional moves toward independence, and a general dislike of many state institutions pervaded large segments of society. The important thing to think about is that when the war broke out it was essentially an attempted military coup. The right-wing general population did not rebel before that. Prior to the coup the most unstable elements of society actually came from the left, as witnessed by the 1934 Asturias Rising and the chronic agitation of the anarchists. The military units which joined the rising were also counting on the extremely tense international situation at the time. Without German and Italian support they knew they would fail. They were right on that score. Thus, without international involvement the rebellion would have been crushed. I don't think we've got anything to worry about as did the Popular Front government in 1936.