Spanish civil war essay

Spanish civil war essay

Ekonomiaz79 159— The Great Gatsby, F. Worker cooperatives during the Spanish Civil War and in contemporary Spain Published October 24, For Whom The Bell Spanish civil war essay by Ernes Hemmingway Conflict Ernest Hemingway Spain Spanish Civil War. Miguel Garcia Member of the Guardia Civil Army referring to the reaction of Barcelonian women upon hearing Franco was suppressing the uprising by slaughtering whole towns via Moorish swords.

Popular Topics in Category

However, it also describes political systems that can be highly organised and stresses the importance of individual rights, democratic control, and a lack of state power. Anarcho-syndicalism, where workers democratically control workplaces, is one type of anarchy. Spain is the only country to have had revolutionary anarcho-syndicalism on a massive scale, which was spontaneously implemented during the Spanish civil war. It is an organisation that is owned and controlled by its workers, democratically, from the ground up, spanish civil war essay. This essay will use Spain as a case study to in order to establish the link between historical and contemporary forms of worker participation.

First, this author will review Spanish history to illuminate the historical context in which Mondragon and anarcho-syndicalism took root. The ideology spanish civil war essay practicalities of the revolutionary syndicates will be examined, as will the decline of worker participation, spanish civil war essay, and the end of unionism, after the defeat of the Second Republic, by General Franco. Secondly, a brief description of life in Mondragón in the Basque region, and the arrival of Don José Maria will give a historical background to the formation of Mondragon Corporation.

This essay will argue that the extent to which Mondragon has been informed by anarcho-syndicalism is debateable, although they are somewhat ideologically similar, the political environment when each organisational form was established spanish civil war essay vastly different. Spain is one of the oldest states in Europe, beginning with the Visigothic monarchy in the sixth century Payne, Geographically, it has mountain ranges that separate parts of the north, which spanish civil war essay given the country an ongoing linguistic diversity. It has had two periods of political stability and economic growth.

The second period of political stability, known as the silver-age, began in where citizens were afforded basic civil rights, and significant economic and educational progress was made Encarnación, ; Payne, There spanish civil war essay also been periods of relative instability. Between and there were 37 attempted coups, often as pronunciamientos by military units, which invited other political groups, and military spanish civil war essay, to join them in order to overthrow the government Encarnación, ; Payne, At the end of the silver-age trade unions and socialist parties had formed and were becoming hostile the state. While the Partido Socialista Obrero Español PSOE, Spanish Socialist Party and the Unión General de Trajabadores UGT, General Union of Labour were relatively peaceful, the anarchist trade union movement Confederación Nacional del Trabajo CNT, Confederation of Labour and the small Partido Comunista de España PCE, Spanish Communist Party often used violent means against the government Payne, Bya temporary dictatorship had been established in Spain by General Miguel Primo de Rivera, which lasted untiland on April 14,spanish civil war essay, the second republic was born Payne, The Second Republic was formed after the dismissal of General Rivera by the King, who subsequently abdicated his throne Payne, The new Republic was governed initially by left Republicans, PSOE and the centrist Radicals Payne, A constitution was ratified that limited the role of the Catholic Church in Spain, ending financial support for the Church and nationalised their land holdings Encarnación, Spanish civil war essay of violence against churches failed to be condemned by the government of the Spanish civil war essay Republic, in a country where a significant proportion of the population were still Catholic; this approach did not always find support with the population Encarnación, During the Second Republic, ideological positions became more entrenched, which culminated with the electoral victory of the Popular Front, containing parties from the radical left, spanish civil war essay, in February Encarnación, As a response to this, General Francisco Franco led a rebellion on July 18,which became a civil war Payne, spanish civil war essay, Anarcho-Syndicalism became widespread in Spain during the civil war.

In Spain, the CNT, and the more moderate UGT are associated with organising and helping to collectivise workers both rurally and in urban areas to achieve these goals Payne, Agricultural collectives, which usually had around people, would agree to take over and run the land in common, while still maintaining private property rights an area set aside for families to grow crops, for clothes, furniture, and farm animals Mintz, ; Ovejero, Anarcho-syndicalists do not just have economic goals, however. Each collective had a constitution to set the rules of the particular collective Ovejero, Around 1. The success of anarcho-syndicalism is contestable. Firstly, a number of authors mention the difficulty of studying anarcho-syndicalism as both the Republican historians and the Francoist right sort to bury that history Chomsky, ; Mintz, ; Payne, Secondly, while economic progress during the revolution was poor, the revolutionaries were also fighting a war, and goals shifted from producing excess economic output to self-sufficiency Payne, Therefore, assessing economic output is at odds with what the anarchists were trying to achieve.

Therefore any notions of human advancement must take into account the abject material conditions of the Republican zone during the war. Francoist Spain put an end to revolutionary activity and initiated four decades of authoritarian rule, however, the regime later created the conditions for an eventual return to democracy. Once Franco came into power, he outlawed political parties and trade unions Encarnación, ; Payne, Initially, Franco was a brutal and vindictive ruler, although it has been said to have been the least ideological dictator, pragmatically blending a conservatism, nationalism and religiosity Encarnación, Ina plan to liberalise the economy contributed to los años de desarrolloor the years of development, which increased industrial output and led to a massive increase in tourism.

This helped to increase GDP per capita and resulted in a partial erosion of class differences Encarnación, The eventual reestablishment of pro-democratic labour movements occurred in the s. These movements, along with the church, that was beginning to dissent spanish civil war essay the regime, and universities that were becoming increasingly critical towards the regime meant that upon the death of Franco inSpain moved towards a re-establishing full democracy. A corporatist approach was taken to manage class conflict both during the Franco years and after the transition to democracy. As aforementioned, Franco outlawed trade unions, but spanish civil war essay regime also shut down the peak employers body, Unión Nacional Económica UNE. UGT and the CCOO are now the dominant labour unions while the Confederación Española de Organizaciones Empresariales CEOEformed in is the peak employers body Encarnación, A number of social pacts were conducted between andwhere the various peak bodies negotiated labour relations, social policy and wage policy.

This contrast with earlier periods where the state, unions and employers were often militant, and would not work together, spanish civil war essay. The Mondragon Corporation was established during the Franco era. With local enterprises having excluded all but the sons of management from persuing education, María set up an educational institute in the town to educate boys of working class families in technical instruction. Mondragon has over 71, employees, and businesses and cooperatives across the globe Mondragon, n. The general assembly elects the governing council made up of workers, who employ a manager, who is similar to a CEO of a private enterprise. Both from a social and economic perspective, Mondragon has been very successful. The founding father of Mondragon, Don José María, was interested in social justice, and it is highly doubtful that he would not have studied the revolutionary anarcho-syndicalist movements that were so widespread in many regions in Spain.

Both anarcho-syndicalist movement and the first Mondragon cooperative, grew out of heightened class antagonisms, although the political environment could scarcely be more different. The anarcho-syndicalism movement grew where there was a lack of authoritative power in Spain, both because the republic was fighting Franco, and the fragmentation of many belligerents on the Republican side of the war, and because a number of external countries were also intervening in the Spain. Ostensibly, this might seem like the worst conditions in order to establish a cooperative; however, the church did have extensive power under Franco, which probably assisted María in being able to create the institutes. Somewhat ironically, then, many of the structures that have made Mondragon so successful were established due to a necessity that arose out of Franco era economic and social policy.

Therefore, it is highly likely that anarcho-syndicalism and earlier workers movements did influence the ideological formation, if not the practical implementation, of workers cooperatives in Mondragón, Basque. Spain has had periods of relative political stability and instability. Anarcho-syndicalism was born during a period of instability, during the Second Republic, where the Republicans had many internal divisions, and they were fighting fascism. In contrast, the Mondragon Corporation was formed during a period of stability, albeit ruthlessly enforced, under General Franco. Classic class antagonisms were present both during the Second Republic and under Francoist rule, although unions and other civil society groups were outlawed under Franco. The church, however, gained importance during the Franco era.

Ideologically, Mondragon shares some of the same ideology as anarcho-syndicalism but is more pragmatic in many ways, which include recognising state power, and setting up elaborate governance structures. This practical approach to worker democratic control and ownership led to its longevity and apparent success. While it seems unlikely that revolutionary forces will overthrow the state and establish robust and sustainable anarcho-syndicalism in contemporary Spain, it is more realistic to implement policy that encourages workers cooperatives, both because it is good for citizens to participate democratically in their workplaces, and because they can be economically beneficial to their worker-members and society.

Elortza, N. La gestión de la crisis en la Corporación Mondragon. Ekonomiaz79 159— Encarnación, O. Spanish politics: Democracy after dictatorship. Cambridge, UK: Polity. Flecha, spanish civil war essay, R. Cooperation for Economic Success: The Mondragon Case. Mintz, F. Sharkey, Trans. Reprint edition, spanish civil war essay. Oakland, CA: AK Press. MONDRAGON Corporation. Ovejero, A. Spanish libertarian collectives: A unique historical case of worker self management. WorkingUSA: The Journal of Labor and Society13 1— Perez-Diaz, V. Economic policies and social pacts in Spanish civil war essay during the transition: The two faces of neo-corporatism. European Sociological Review2 11— Rocker, R. Anarcho-Syndicalism: Theory and Practice. Indore, India: Modern Printery.

Whyte, W. Making Mondragon: the growth and dynamics of the worker cooperative complex 2nd ed. Ithaca, N. Y: ILR Spanish civil war essay. Categories: Essay. Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open. Worker cooperatives during the Spanish Civil War and in contemporary Spain Published October 24, References Chomsky, N. On Anarchism. London, England: Penguin Books. Payne, S.

easy essays for students

Surely, the storming of the armories can be considered combative action. Further examination of Hutchings text reveals first hand accounts of womanly participation. Piera tells of her experience, I woke in the morning and heard that the people were in the armory so I went there I took a pistol and two ramrods I took what I could. Enriqueta Rovira, a young woman of twenty, jumped on the first train back to Barcelona. She tells, I had a pistol and I was not afraid to use it they soon said no there were companeros without arms. Aside from the bravery they displayed, selflessness was a virtue that was crucial to the Republican factions.

When they were sent to build barricades, they did. When they were told to take care of securing provisions, they did. When these women were called upon to see that the men were fed, they did. In Seville The town of Seville bore witness to a witch-hunt that was reminiscent of the Puritan campaign in 18th Century Massachusetts. Upon Franco s orders, the Nationalist Party sought to find and destroy all women who belonged to parties like the United Socialist Youth Organization. The nuns of Seville also aided in turning the young women over to Franco.

Despite all of the adversity and fear these women had to face, they did not flee from the town. In Memories of Resistance, Dulce del Moral, a towns worker explains, the people not just the men went out to barricade the street. Dulce also recalled women fighting alongside the men in solidarity, but due to the male orientation of the region, she could recall no women awarded the status of heroine Mangini p In Merida One small town Extremadura was subjected to a massacre only surpassed by the ones in Seville and Cordoba Mangini p On August in the wake of the July massacre in Seville, the Nationalists brought their witch-hunt to the town of Merida. General Juan Yague was to lead this, but the town would not just lie down.

A defense committee against the invasion of Seville was organized. The organizer was Anita Lopez, a pharmacist turned town leader Mangini p Shirley Mangini speaks of the time she went to find information on Lopez, While her name is still known to some people in Merida, I was unable to obtain information about her activity during the war. In Madrid The story of Madrid during the war, especially during the first few months, is one of the most remarkable tales of resistance by a group of citizens, especially women, in modern history Mangini p This was the site where the Communist Revolutionary, and one of the only noted women to come from the war gave her famous speech. Delores Ibarruri roared, No pasaran They shall not pass.

This speech was heard all over Spain. When the Nationalists attempted to take Madrid, it inspired all Revolutionaries in the city Mangini p The texts above are about women taking action when necessary. Not all women were so reactive. There developed a faction of female fighters who took a proactive stance and went on killing sprees in the name of the war. The following from an incarcerated, young wealthy women in Madrid proves this, One of the Red Criminals was a Milicina and she murdered her colonel, another had killed a communist to steal from him ;another killed her husband. There was even a cannibal Mangini p Across an Ocean They only numbered one hundred, but the significance of women who would cross an ocean to take up for their beliefs is amazing.

Half of these left-wing American women were Jewish Halpern p They confronted fascism and as a result risked death abroad and ostracism upon returning to America. Despite all of this, their efforts remain virtually absent from the Jewish-American record The National Museum of American Jewish History National Women s Hall of Fame has no mention those who volunteered to fight in Spain Halpern p 27 There are thousands of books, from many countries bearing witness to minor actions by obscure men. There were a number of brave and notable women who served their parties, but were not remunerated with historical record.

This is a crime against history, each woman who did something should have been afforded the same recognition that a male would have been. SOLID PROOF OF FEMALE BRAVERY The seventh of November, everyone thought it was the end for Madrid the Fascists were going to enter the city we had no food, nothing, what a disaster! Then Delores Ibarruri shouted No pasaran! We all accepted the challenge. The men who hadn t already gone to the front went off to fight. Nieves Torres, a young woman in Madrid when speaking of the call that the whole town heard one August day. Before getting into the effects women had on the war, it is imperative to distinguish.

Just as generals or leaders are noted in history, the foremost females of the civil war must be given recognition. In Spain, there existed a multitude of women who performed noteworthy acts. One of these exceptional women, Delores Ibarruri was known and revered as La Pasionaria. Ibarruri emerged as a great maternal figure to the communist party. She was known as a sort of earth mother of war, who carried the official Communist party message to the masses, to spur the troops on the victory Mangini p Before the war, Ibarruri was a delegate to the meeting of the communist international and also served as an executive on the committee of the Seventh World Comintern Congress.

In , La Pasionaria was elected to represent the Popular Front party in Parliament after the parties ephemeral victory in the Revolution of October Mangini p When war broke out, she did not let down the tradition of leadership and dominance reserved for males. She was ubiquitous, serving on the front lines, in the rear guard, with the International Brigades and in Parliament. Mangini explains, Pasionaria became a household term for the left and stands next to Emma Goldman and Indira Ghandi as the most mythologized female figures of the twentieth century Mangini p To the opposition, Ibarruri was a redeemed whore and a violent fearsome women Mangini p The hate she incurred from the Fascists and even from some Republicans is nothing but a testimony to her power.

Franco sympathizers imprisoned during the war divulged fabulous accounts of how she was a manlike creature and was cruel to prisoners, especially monks and nuns Mangini p These ridiculous half-truths lend comparison to the propaganda that Hitler aimed at the Allied leaders. His efforts made most of the world see Churchill and his associates as powerful. They were indeed, and this is exactly why he expended efforts to tarnish their image in hopes of damaging credibility. Delores Ibarruri must also receive respect for her accomplishments and her power displayed during the war. She is a credit to the role women in Spain and though at times unorthodox, she must be afforded respect. Truman was given respect for his powerful but unconventional slaughter of thousands of Japanese.

The answer is quite simply, because drastic situations call for drastic measures and gestures. What situation was more drastic than the threat of women being pushed back into the Middle Ages at the hands of the Fascists? WHY DOES HISTORY CONSPIRE TO ERASE? A revolt broke out in when Bustamante was becoming more of a dictator. Social, Economic and Political Factors Involved in the Spanish Civil War With reference to any civil war in the 20th century examine the social, economic and political background to the divisions in the society involved. To what extent were the problems which caused the war resolved in the post-war period? The state of Spain during the early years of the 20th century can be said to have been a state of great "unease".

Spain was one of the first powers to loose her imperial influence, the state was politically unstable, industrially weak and had suffered some humiliating defeats. It can be said that these were the main causes that lead to the great instability of Spain during the Civil war and post civil war periods. Spain was once of the powerful nations in Europe. However, by the 20th century it was poor and backwards country where corruption was experienced on a commonly basis. After losing its overseas possessions Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico and Philippines during the Spanish-American War Spain was in a state of political tension due extreme measures of wealth, poverty and clearly social tensions.

Essentially Spain was a deeply divided country during this time although it was a constitutional monarchy during During this year King Alfonso XIII remained as the royal figurehead however, Miguel Primo de Rivera was the dictator. Spanish Civil War —39 , military revolt against the Republican government of Spain, supported by conservative elements within the country. When an initial military coup failed to win control of the entire country, a bloody civil war ensued, fought with great ferocity on both sides. The Nationalists, as the rebels were called, received aid from fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. The Republicans received aid from the Soviet Union, as well as from International Brigades, composed of volunteers from Europe and the United States.

The war was an outcome of a polarization of Spanish life and politics that had developed over previous decades. The Spanish Civil War The causes of the civil war itself were peculiar to Spain. Due to the great depression which led to economic collapse and big unemployment in Spain, the king abdicated in and Spain became a republic. The government faced risings from provinces within Spain demanding independence. There were also a lot of strikes and rebellions from left wing and socialist groups. The Parliament, albeit limited in power, acquired de facto power in previous centuries, making them a significant group in the kingdoms.

Due to their power, the king could only adjust taxations with their approval. During the Thirty Years War, Charles I desired to intervene, which would require heavy taxation in order to make up for foreign expenditure. His decision to appoint an unpopular Duke as a commander of the English army led to further hostility and criticism from the Parliament, that were deemed as the voice of a society1. In backlash, Charles I dissolved the Parliament and assembled another, which unfortunately for him, created the Petition of Rights that he was forced to sign2. This idea is radical in form because of the new government imposed restrictions, and conservatives may argue this movement shows signs of socialism. middle of paper y new ideas, presidents after him felt they had a lot to live up to.

Franklin D. Many New Deal programs fixed economic problems but did not completely solve social ones surrounding equality and discrimination. Home Page Spanish Civil War. Spanish Civil War Satisfactory Essays. Open Document. Essay Sample Check Writing Quality. A New Era for Women: How gender Roles Changed during the Spanish Civil War By: Isabel Cassidy-Soto An Introduction to The Civil War: The conflict that arose in the s and 40s in Spain can be defined as the struggle between the two ideologies of Spanish society; the traditionalists who wanted to hold on to conservative catholic values and the republicans who sought to embrace the wave of progressive modernism that had already swept through most of the western world.

Thousands lived in complete poverty and misery, working jobs that could not support their growing families. Infant mortality skyrocketed as the economy plunged. While the economy went from one crisis to another, the people began to protest the draconian censorship of the government, forcing the militaristic dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera to step down. During the municipal elections, new radically ideological politocal parties began to emerge, both on the extreme left and right wings. The right wing parties were supported by the monarchists, upperclass, conservatives, and the catholic church. However, among these parties was the small, yet rapidly growing facist falange party created by Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera, son of the former dictator and a man who would have astounding influence on the lives of thousand of people, even long after his death.

The falange sought to restore Spain to its former glory under the rule of one pow ell over the civil war and its aftermath. The ley forced people to recognize and talk about what their country had been through and how society could be repaired. Relatives of those who had been exiled by the Franco Regime were grsnted citizenship, public statues of Franco were removed, and civil war mass graves were revealed, along with plans to exume and rebury the corpses. This cultural phenomena truely shows us that for now, democracy and freedom rule in Spain.

Under the rule of rhe socialist president Zapatero, women actually held more positions of power within congress than men.