2. After a steady, three-centurylong decline, Spain hit rock bottom in the 19th Century… Francisco de Goya (1746-1828), TheFamily of Charles IV
3. … a time full of trouble, bothdomestic and foreign… Internally: Externally: Loss of American Colonies (1810-1820) Loss of Predominance in European and WorldAffairs Spanish-American War of 1898 Napoleon’sInvasion (1808) ThreeDinastic Civil Wars (CarlistWars) Change of Regime (FirstRepublic , 1873-1874) and subsequentrestoration
4. … resulting in a country divided in twomajorfactions… … thosewhowantedto open SpainouttotheWorld… … and thosewhowantedtokeepitclosedintoitself.
5.
6. Thedawn of the 20th Centurywill show thatSpain’sdownfallisnotto stop soon… 1921’s Disaster of Annual: over 10000 Spanishsoldierskilled in Morocco. 1929’s World Crisis hits Spainevenharder. 1912: current Head of Government José Canalejas killedbyanallegedanarchist.
9. In fiveyears, from 1931 to 1936, Spainslidesdowntowards Civil War 1931: Proclamation of theSecondRepublic 1931 - 1933: ruledby a coalition of Center-LefttoLeftparties, the new Republicpasses a Constitution, new laws of PublicEducation, AgrarianReformation, Vote for women. 1932: General Sanjurjo and otherhigh-rankofficersattempt a coupd’étatknown as “Sanjurjada”. 1933 -1936: CEDA (SpanishConfederation of Autonomous Rights): the Black / SterileBiennial. 1934: Anarchist and CommunistUnionsunleashthefailed “Red October” revolution in Asturias (North-Western Spain). Catalonia declares itself “sovereignstatewithintheRepublic”
10. OnJuly 18th 1936, tensionsbetween radical left and extreme right lead up torebellionfromConservativeArmyofficers.
23. … Franco didnotenterthewar, buthissupport of the Axis … … increasedSpain’sisolationfromthe Western World. In 1941, Spainsentthe “Blue Squadron” and “Blue Division”, volunteerpilots and soldierswhofoughtagainst Stalin in theRussian Front.
24.
25.
26. But, in spite of the “miracle”, social and politicalunrest set in…
