Spanish Civil War: Origins, Division, and Global Impact

Spanish Civil War: Uprising and Internationalization

The causes that led to the military uprising were varied:

Underlying Causes of the Conflict

• First, the deep-rooted problems and political conflicts that characterized the Second Spanish Republic, including religious, educational, social, military, agricultural, and territorial reforms. This period also saw the political radicalization of sectors with dictatorial tendencies and anti-republican workers' organizations advocating for social revolution.

Immediate Origins and Initial Outcome

• The immediate origins lay in the reaction of anti-republican sectors to the triumph of the Popular Front, who orchestrated a military and civilian coup plot. Also notable was the inability of the Popular Front governments to curb escalating violence and assassinations. This culminated in the military uprising of July 1936, led by General Mola, known as 'The Director', whose immediate goal was to seize power in Spain. The military rebellion succeeded primarily in more conservative agricultural areas (Castilla y León, Galicia, southern Andalusia, Extremadura, parts of Mallorca and the Canary Islands, and the Protectorate of Morocco), while it failed in the industrial areas (Asturias, Basque Country, Catalonia, etc.) and major urban centers (Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, etc.).

The Nation Divided

As a result, the country was divided into two distinct camps:

• The Nationalists: Supported by traditional oligarchies, small landowners, Catholic middle classes, political parties such as CEDA, Falange, and Carlists, and the Catholic Church.
• The Republicans: Backed by anarchists and communists.

Internationalization of the Conflict

Finally, the internationalization of the Spanish Civil War stands out, caused by foreign intervention that transformed it into an international conflict with enormous impact on global public opinion and governments. Despite the signing of the Non-Intervention Agreement for Spain in August 1936 by twenty-seven countries, including Germany, Italy, and the USSR, which prohibited the export of arms and war materials to Spain, both sides received external aid. This assistance came in the form of military support and through the formation of volunteer fighter units.

Among the international aid to the Republic, notable contributions came from Stalin's USSR, France, and Mexico. Also prominent were the International Brigades, composed of volunteers from a wide ideological spectrum. The Nationalists, meanwhile, received military aid from Germany (under Hitler), Italy (under Mussolini), and Portugal, and obtained financial support from Spanish capitalists and large Anglo-American multinational companies.