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Note: The following is pasted from Wikipedia to provide information before the POD, contact me on my talk page if this is an issue.

Reino de España
Kingdom of Spain
1874–1975
Flag of Spain (1785-1873 and 1875-1931) Coat of Arms of Spain (1874-1931) Golden Fleece and Mantle Variant
Flag Coat of arms
Motto
Plus Ultra

("Further Beyond")

Spain in 1898
The Kingdom of Spain and its colonies in 1898
Capital Madrid
Official language Spanish
Religion Roman Catholicism
Government Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy (1874-1923)

Unitary absolute monarchy under an authoritarian military dictatorship (1923-1924)
Unitary absolute monarchy under a authoritarian conservative Catholic one-party military dictatorship (1924-1927; 1929-1936)
Unitary constitutional monarchy under a personalist dictatorship (1936-1975)

King
 - 1874–1885 Alfonso XII
 - 1886–1941 Alfonso XIII
 - 1941-1975 Alfonso XIV
Prime Minister
 - 1874-1875 Antonio Cánovas (first)
 - 1936-1975 Francisco Franco (last)
Legislature Cortes Generales
History
 - Pronunciamiento 1874
 - Constitution adopted 30 June 1876
 - Melilla War 1909-1910
 - Nationalist seizure of power 17 July 1936
 - Franco's death 20 November 1975
 - Disestablished 1975

Introduction[]

The Kingdom of Spain, also referred to as the Restoration, or the Period of Dictatorial Monarchy, is the name given to a period of Spanish history ranging from 1874 to 1975, roughly a century. The period effectively began on 29 December 1874 — after a coup d'état by Martínez Campos ended the First Spanish Republic and restored the monarchy under Alfonso XII — and ended on 20 November 1975, following the death of Prime Minister Francisco Franco and subsequent formation of the modern Spanish constitutional monarchy.

After almost a whole century of political instability and many civil wars, the aim of the Restoration was to create a new political system, which ensured stability by the practice of turnismo. This was the deliberate rotation of the Liberal and Conservative parties in the government. This was achieved by electoral fraud. Opposition to the system came from Republicans, Socialists, Anarchists, Basque and Catalan nationalists, and Carlists.

Alfonso XII and the Regency of Maria Christina (1874–1898)[]

Retrato del rey Alfonso XII (Museo del Prado)

Alfonso XII, King of Spain

The pronunciamiento by Martínez Campos established Alfonso XII as king, marking the end of the First Spanish Republic. After this, the Constitution of 1876 was written and enforced during the whole restoration. This constitution established Spain as a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral legislature (Cortes Generales), consisting of an upper house (Senate), and a lower house (Congress of Deputies). This constitution gave the King the power to name Senators and to revoke laws if he wanted to, and he was also given the title of Commander-in-chief of the army.

These years were marked by economic prosperity. Ever since the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, Spain's economy had fallen even further behind those of other European countries. During these years the modernization of the country took place on a large scale. On most fronts domestic production was increased, supported by extreme protectionist measures.

The two parties alternated in the government in a controlled process known as el turno pacífico; the Liberal Party was led by Sagasta and the Conservative Party by Canovas del Castillo. The caciques, powerful local figures, were used to manipulate election results, and as a result resentment of the system slowly built up over time and important nationalist movements in Catalonia, Galicia and the Basque Country, as well as unions, started to form.

Reign of Alfonso XIII and crisis of the system (1898–1923)[]

In 1898, Spain lost its last major overseas colonies (Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines) in the Spanish–American War. The rapid collapse was perceived as a disaster in Spain, undermining the credibility of both the government and its associated ideologies and almost leading to a military coup d'état led by Camilo Polavieja. This was the start of the system's decline, giving energy to all manner of conflicting opposition movements at a local and national level.

Alfonso XIII de España by Kaulak

Alfonso XIII

The failed attempts to conquer Morocco (Melilla War) caused great discontent at home and ended in a revolt in Barcelona, known as the Semana Tragica, in which the lower classes of Barcelona, backed by the anarchists, communists, and republicans, revolted against what they considered the unjust methods for recruiting soldiers. The government declared a state of war and sent the army to crush the revolt, causing over a hundred deaths and the execution of Francisco Ferrer. The socialist Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT) and the anarchist Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) decided to initiate a general strike across the country, but it failed because the unions could only mobilize urban workers.

The problems in Morocco worsened as an army of natives attacked the Spanish army. They achieved surprise and, due to the skill of the Moroccan chieftain, Abd-Al-Krim, virtually annihilated the Spanish army, advancing almost as far as Melilla in the Battle of Annual. This Spanish defeat was due to improper planning and was blamed on the top military officers, causing great discontent among the military, who felt misunderstood, because they had been directed to advance into the interior without adequate resources to occupy the difficult territory.

Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera (1923-1930)[]

The military discontent, the fear of anarchist terrorism or a proletarian revolution, and the rise of nationalist movements ultimately caused great agitation amongst the civilians and the military. On 13 September 1923, Miguel Primo de Rivera, Captain General of Catalonia, orchestrated a coup d'état, after issuing a manifesto blaming the problems of Spain on the parliamentary system. Alfonso XIII backed the General and named him Prime Minister. Primo de Rivera proceeded to suspend the Constitution and assume absolute powers as a dictator. He created the Unión Patriótica Española, which was meant to be the sole legal party, abolishing all other parties. During this time, he greatly increased government spending on business and public services, which caused his government to go bankrupt. He lost the support of the military and faced serious health problems.

Post-dictatorship and political tensions (1930-1936)[]

Rivera died in March of 1930, and an interim government led by Dámaso Berenguer took charge and reversed the majority of Rivera's policies, issuing a nationwide "return to normalcy" by supposedly returning to conditions pre-1923. However, the call received criticism from the Cortes Generales, who believed that a return to such conditions would simply lead to the rise of another dictator. Berenguer resigned after only a month in office, and his successor, Juan Bautista Aznar-Cabañas, was defeated in the recall elections that he had established that year, allowing Socialist and Republican groups to gain seats in the House of Deputies. However, also among the wave of politicians were the "Nationalists" favoring complete authority of the prime minister over legislative and foreign affairs, while the monarch would be politically neutral and would not have the ability to name a prime minister or politician directly. The socialist members of the Generales introduced a proposal favoring the proclamation of a "Second Republic", which "acted in the interests of the common civilian".

During this time, a Republican-leaning government of Manuel Azaña initiated numerous reforms to what in their view would modernize the country. In 1932 the Jesuits, who were in charge of the best schools throughout the country, were banned and had all their property confiscated and the army was reduced. Landowners were expropriated. Home rule was granted to Catalonia, with a local parliament and a president of its own. Alfonso XIII, despite his granted status as a politically neutral constitutional monarch, opposed the decision to grant home rule to regions with lingual differences, believing that such would cause a secession crisis if a pro-centralist government were to take power simultaneously.

The Nationalist faction in the Congress of Deputies, despite the transitional government of Azaña, drafted separate legislation which acted to establish cordial relations with the newly-formed European Council of Affairs in opposition towards the German Empire. Though Spain had a neutral status, many in the faction believed that ending the ongoing period of international isolation would bring about economic improvements, through the rapid industrialization of members France and Russia. The government under Azaña refused, noting that the legislation stood opposed to the sole nationalist policy of allowing the Prime Minister to have full control over foreign relations, and even retributed the plan by cutting off relations with France in 1935.

Coup of 17 July[]

In January 1936, a delegation led by general José Sanjurjo met in Madrid, agreeing to orchestrate a coup d'état against the Prime Minister with support from Alfonso, who they believed was sympathetic to their cause. It was decided upon that general Francisco Franco would be set up as the next Prime Minister, due to him having fair support among the military, which grew to distrust both the Socialist government and the King. The Nationalists then took control of Spain through a comprehensive and methodical war of attrition (guerra de desgaste) which involved the imprisonment and executions of Spaniards found guilty of supporting the values promoted by the government of Azaña: regional autonomy, liberal or social democracy, free elections and women's rights, including the vote. The plan did not go unnoticed, and the Nationalists, calling themselves Francoists after Franco himself, declared a state of emergency by implanting martial law in counties where they held seats. To avoid losing backing from the military, Franco in a radio address declared that he would not directly support the reign of the King, and had plans to do away with him once the "Revolution" was over.

Franco established a government separate from that of Azaña, and in a similar fashion to the Coup of 25 May in France, stormed the House of Deputies with armed followers, declaring the foundation of a new government led by himself. Franco was immediately recognized by France and Italy as the legitimate Prime Minister of Spain, while nations such as the United Kingdom and Germany stayed neutral on the matter. On 17 July, an emergency election held under military supervision confirmed Franco as Prime Minister (or Caudillo as the Spanish equivalent of the Italian Duce). The Junta de Defensa Nacional (National Defense Council), which governed the territories occupied by the Nationalists, with French military support, quickly suppressed opposition to the proclamation and suspended regional communication among rail lines or highways to prevent a backup Republican government from convening. Not all armed resistance was quelled, leading to some foreign newspapers coining the event the "Spanish Civil War", though most hostilities were in regions that were granted home rule by the previous government.

Alfonso did not issue any public statements about his opinion on the recent events, fearing that Franco (as stated in his address) would overthrow or exile him if he did not agree to a "proper" transition of power. It is not known what the monarchy thought of the new regime, though second-in-line heir apparent Infante Jaime supposedly announced his support for the new government in a letter to Franco's secondary base of operations in Barcelona. The new regime under Franco repealed any constrictive term limit laws established for the Prime Minister, effectively making him a dictator. Franco then re-established relations with the European Council of Affairs, directing his assemblies to join the alliance directly.

Social reforms and World War II (1936-1945)[]

Franco's Spanish nationalism promoted a unitary national identity by repressing Spain's cultural diversity. Bullfighting and flamenco were promoted as national traditions, while those traditions not considered Spanish were suppressed. Franco's view of Spanish tradition was somewhat artificial and arbitrary: while some regional traditions were suppressed, Flamenco, an Andalusian tradition, was considered part of a larger, national identity. All cultural activities were subject to censorship and many were forbidden entirely, often in an erratic manner. This cultural policy relaxed over time, most notably in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Francisco Franco

Francisco Franco, Caudillo of Spain (1936-1975)

Franco was reluctant to enact any form of administrative and legislative decentralization and kept a fully centralized form of government with a similar administrative structure to that established by the House of Bourbon and General Miguel Primo de Rivera. These structures were modelled after the centralized systems in France. As a result of this type of governance, government attention and initiatives were irregular and often depended more on the goodwill of government representatives than on regional needs. Thus inequalities in schooling, health care or transport facilities among regions were patent: historically affluent regions like Madrid, Catalonia or the Basque Country fared much better than others such as Extremadura, Galicia or Andalusia.

World War II broke out in November 1939 after the French attack on Germany. Despite Franco's sympathy towards the government of Charles Maurras, Spain, much like the United States and Italy, declared neutrality as an "associated power", which acted in the economic and political interests of its allies, however did not enter conflicts alongside them. Spain was not the only member of the Council to avoid entering the war directly, as Russia and Italy had maintained a similar position following the surprising Axis victories at Reims and Rotterdam which abruptly halted the French offensive. Spain sent limited military aid and volunteers to France in hopes of improving their situation, however failed to reach their strategic goal of blending the war into a stalemate before the "necessary preparations" could be made so Spain could enter the conflict.

After the Fall of France in May of 1941, Franco granted asylum to the French government-in-exile, and allowed them to continue preparations for likely counter-offensives to retake the mainland. However, attempts by Franco to stay out of the crossfire of the conflict failed, and a month later German forces attached the border with both land invasions and air attacks. Despite them being outnumbered heavily, Spain largely capitalized off of German attrition by retreating strategically during the initial invasion, before attacking in regions with dense hills and forests to slow the Axis advance. Axis forces stalled in the Basque Country as well, where armed resistance prevented them from covering Iberia's northern coastlines by December. In the long-fought Battle of Barcelona where Spanish forces eventually emerged victorious, Franco urged all citizens and soldiers to continue the fight long enough to wear down the German war machine, offering personal pensions and stimuluses once the war ended.

Final years (1945-1975)[]

After World War II, Spain suffered severe economic downturn and the promised stimuluses barely improved civilian conditions. Reforms were implemented in the 1950s and Spain abandoned autarky, reassigned authority from the Falangist movement, which had been prone to isolationism, to a new breed of economists, the technocrats of Opus Dei. This led to massive economic growth, second only to Japan, that lasted until the mid-1970s, known as the "Spanish miracle". During the 1950s the regime also changed from being openly totalitarian and using severe repression to an authoritarian system with limited pluralism. As a result of these reforms, Spain was allowed to join the United Nations in 1955. Franco's regime was assisted by the Western powers, particularly the United States. Franco died in 1975 at the age of 82. He allowed the formation of a constitutional monarchy and federal system before his death and made his successor King Juan Carlos I, who would lead the Spanish transition to democracy.

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