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The Pacts of San Sebastian
-Republicans and socialists meet in San Sebastian and agree to overthrow the monarchy and establish a democratic republican regime.
-They create a Revolutionary Committee to co-ordinate the opposition.
-Their initial plan of calling a general strike and a military rising fail and many members of the Revolutionary Committee are arrested. -
Municipal elections
-The new constitution government chosen by the king called the first free elections.
-The elections are municipal, but everyone understands them to be a referendum on the monarchy.
-Overall the monarchists win, but the Republicans get a decisive victory in the large cities.
-Alfonso XIII understands that he can't remain without the support of the urban classes, and he leaves the country. -
Proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic
-The Republic is proclaimed.
-On that same day, the Revolutionary Committee becomes the Provisional Republican Government of the Second Spanish Republic.
-The Republic has broad support from all segments of society. -
Period: to
Reformist biennium
-Niceto Alcalá Zamora was named president of the Republic and Manuel Azaña of the government.
-Azaña´s new cabinet introduced a variety of ambitious reforms: the Statute of Autonomy for Cataluña was passed, the subordination of the army to the civil government led the military to withdraw its support for the Republic, the Jesuits were expelled, and the Agrarian reforms.
-In 1932, General Sanjuro´s coup to stop the reform failed.
-In 1933, Anarchist labourers occupied the land in Casa Viejas. -
The Constitution of 1931
-The Constituent Assembly elections helped to choose the drafters of the new Republican Constitution.
-The victors were the parties forming the Provisional Government: Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE), and Partido Republicano Radical (PRR).
-The drafters described it as a progressive, democratic and left-wing constitution. -
Period: to
The black biennium
-Elections were held in November 1933.
-These elections were the first ones in which the women could vote.
-The anarchist encouraged people not to vote and the right-wing Catholic parties were united under the Confederación Española de Derechas Autónomas (CEDA).
-CEDA and Partido Repúblicano Radical (PRR) won the elections.
-Alejandro Lerroux (PRR) was in charge of forming the government.
-He managed, with the support of CEDA, to reverse the reforms. -
The Revolution of Octover 1934
-Some leaders of PSOE, like Francisco Largo Caballero, feared that CEDA was beginning to resemble the fascism so they called a general strike which grew into a revolution.
-It was a movement by nationalist, anarchist and communist organisations. Important uprisings:
-Cataluña declared itself independent. In response, the Generalitat was dissolved and the president was arrested.
-Asturias: miners staged an armed revolt. It was put down by the army -
The Popular Front
-New elections in February 1936.
-The left-wing parties joined together to form the Popular Front coalition.
-They defended the right to amnesty for the political prisoners held in the Revolution.
-Support for the right-wing radical parties grew led by José Calvo Sotelo and the Falange Española.
-Popular Front won the elections of 1936 but the results showed that Spain was politically split between right-wing (45%) and left-wing (47%). -
The start of the Civil War
-On 12 July, guards and a socialist sympathiser was murdered by right-wing gunmen.
-In revenge, some of Castillo´s colleagues kidnapped and killed the right-wing deputy Calvo Sotelo.
-This event triggered the military coup which had been making for some time.
-General Emilio Mola was in charge.
-On the 17 July, rebel soldiers in the Spanish protectorate of Morocco seized control of their garrisons in Ceuta, Melilla and Tetuan.
-In a few days, the Civil War started.
