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161-645: Central Europe Germany Italy Spain ( Spanish Civil War ) Albania Austria Baltic states Belgium Bulgaria Burma Czechia Denmark France Germany Greece Italy Japan Jewish Luxembourg Netherlands Norway Poland Romania Slovakia Spain Soviet Union Yugoslavia Germany Italy Netherlands Portugal Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom United States The British Independent Labour Party sent

322-678: A Catalanist coup d'etat , planned in November by Estat Català . Halfway through February 1937, a congress took place in Caspe with the purpose of creating the Regional Federation of Collectives of Aragon . 456 delegates, representing more than 141,000 collective members, attended the congress. The congress was also attended by delegates of the National Committee of the CNT. At a plenary session of

483-584: A Member of Parliament for the Labour Party . The ILP had begun organising volunteers in November 1936 following the return to Britain of Bob Edwards from delivering an ambulance sent by the ILP for the POUM militia. Though there had been five times the number of volunteers, the ILP would only accept unmarried men for its contingent and 25 men left Britain on 8 January as the vanguard of a larger force to be sent later. However,

644-498: A Welshman married to a Spanish woman who joined up with his brother-in-law, Ramon. With these, and other, additions the ILP contingent numbered somewhere between thirty and thirty-five. They left the front, with the POUM militia, in mid-February 1937 to take part in the siege of Huesca , some 50 miles away. Eric Blair's background, prep school and Eton and his experience in Burma as police officer, are well known. The backgrounds of

805-456: A military junta among whom General Francisco Franco quickly achieved a preponderant role. Due to the international political climate at the time, the war had many facets and was variously viewed as class struggle , a religious struggle , a struggle between dictatorship and republican democracy , between revolution and counterrevolution , and between fascism and communism . According to Claude Bowers , U.S. ambassador to Spain during

966-659: A revolution was carried out by the CNT. The first acts of the insurrection took place on January 1, with bombs exploding in La Fulguera , Asturias , and street riots in Seville , Lleida and Pedro Muñoz . By 8 January the revolution had spread to most of Spain reaching its greatest resonance in Andalusia. The revolution was violently suppressed: in Bugarra , where the workers had proclaimed libertarian communism after an intense combat with

1127-411: A various posts union is formed for that industry, rather than multiple industry unions. A various posts union can include workers from different crafts and industries; it requires a minimum of five people. If this number cannot be reached, four or fewer workers can form a confederal group. Due to the small size of the CNT, a majority of its unions are various posts unions. The decision-making power of

1288-618: A collapse as in Spain at this moment. Abroad, Spain is classified as insolvent. This is not the road to socialism or communism but to desperate anarchism without even the advantage of liberty". The disenchantment with Azaña's ruling was also voiced by Miguel de Unamuno , a republican and one of Spain's most respected intellectuals who, in June 1936, told a reporter who published his statement in El Adelanto that President Manuel Azaña should commit suicide "as

1449-413: A dictatorship in which all right-wing parties were fused into the structure of his regime. The war became notable for the passion and political division it inspired worldwide and for the many atrocities that occurred. Organised purges occurred in territory captured by Franco's forces so they could consolidate their future regime. Mass executions on a lesser scale also took place in areas controlled by

1610-515: A discussion circle was formed. Whilst the discussion group centred on political issues the group was not solely concerned with such topics. A social secretary was also appointed to 'arrange concerts and entertainments' and a sports secretary was elected with a hasty football match organised between the ILPers and a team of Spanish militia-men. The training received at the Barracks was notoriously short and at

1771-507: A fascist political party. The coup was supported by military units in Morocco , Pamplona , Burgos , Zaragoza , Valladolid , Cádiz , Córdoba , Málaga , and Seville . However, rebelling units in almost all important cities—such as Madrid , Barcelona , Valencia , Bilbao , Murcia , and Almería —did not gain control. Those cities remained in the hands of the government, leaving Spain militarily and politically divided. The Nationalists and

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1932-532: A figurehead. The government at the time was a coalition of Republicans, supported in the Cortes by communist and socialist parties, under the leadership of centre-left president Manuel Azaña . The Nationalist faction was supported by several conservative groups, including CEDA , monarchists, including both the opposing Alfonsists and the religious conservative Carlists , and the Falange Española de las JONS ,

2093-459: A head at the CNT's 10th Congress, held in Córdoba in 2010. The congress resolved to reinforce the CNT's industrial action by hiring a technical team of lawyers and economists , refine its organiser training methods and refocus its efforts on recruiting more members and electing more workplace representatives. Although this resulted in the growth of the organisation, a number of local branches rejected

2254-584: A major part in the military side of the Spanish Civil War it was famously and controversially involved in the events surrounding the battles between rival Republican groups in Barcelona, known as the Barcelona May Days . The ILP contingent, although on leave in Barcelona, were split into groups during this fighting and none of the ILP contingent were drawn into the fighting in any extended way. However,

2415-404: A monopoly on hiring; strikes; and efforts by unions to limit women's employment, all done to preserve a labour monopoly for their members. Class struggle intensified as landowners turned to counterrevolutionary organisations and local oligarchs. Strikes, workplace theft, arson, robbery and assaults on shops, strikebreakers, employers and machines became increasingly common. Ultimately, the reforms of

2576-516: A new "constituent parliament" which would be chosen by a new politically purged electorate, who would vote on the issue of republic versus monarchy. Liberal elements would remain, such as separation of church and state as well as freedom of religion. Agrarian issues would be solved by regional commissioners on the basis of smallholdings, but collective cultivation would be permitted in some circumstances. Legislation prior to February 1936 would be respected. Violence would be required to destroy opposition to

2737-463: A new course for the CNT. The "official" sector of the CNT dismissed members of the commission, who also received death threats and were physically assaulted, prompting the dissident faction to establish self-defense units and eventually forcing the "official" sector of the CNT to prohibit further violence. At the CNT's Barcelona Congress, held in January 1983, a dispute broke out between the two factions, as

2898-407: A new system of works councils , in which workers in a given workplace would elect union representatives to negotiate with their employers. By the 1980s, the issue of participation in these union elections  [ es ] had caused a split in the CNT. In July 1980, delegates that supported electoral participation, representing 100 of the CNT's trade unions, established a commission to chart

3059-539: A patriotic act". Laia Balcells observes that polarisation in Spain just before the coup was so intense that physical confrontations between leftists and rightists were a routine occurrence in most localities; six days before the coup occurred, there was a riot between the two in the province of Teruel. Balcells notes that Spanish society was so divided along Left-Right lines that the monk Hilari Raguer stated that in his parish, instead of playing "cops and robbers", children would sometimes play "leftists and rightists". Within

3220-449: A reprisal for Castillo's murder. But he was not at home, so they went to the house of José Calvo Sotelo , a Spanish monarchist and prominent parliamentary conservative. Luis Cuenca, a member of the arresting group and a Socialist who was known as the bodyguard of PSOE leader Indalecio Prieto , summarily executed Sotelo. Reprisals followed. The killing of Calvo Sotelo with police involvement aroused suspicions and reactions among

3381-406: A show of hands. The problem arises when decisions have to be made in local or regional plenaries or congresses. It has already been explained that the basic structure of the CNT is the industrial union branch, or where these do not exist, the union of various occupations. Well then, there is no completely fair method for making decisions through voting: The CNT attempts to minimize this problem by

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3542-522: A small contingent to fight in the Spanish Civil War . The contingent fought alongside the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification ( POUM ) and included George Orwell , who subsequently wrote about his experiences in his personal account Homage to Catalonia . The main body of the ILP contingent consisting of about 25 men departed from England on 1 January 1937, under the leadership of Bob Edwards , later

3703-412: A sniper. However, the reality of the contingent's activity was more mundane. It largely consisted of building roads from their dug-out to the nearest Spanish position and creating a dug-out for community purposes where they could meet to talk and receive instructions. In terms of military combat the contingent saw relatively little action. As Orwell later put it: Although the ILP contingent did not play

3864-553: A socialist Republic in association with the Soviet Union". Francisco Largo Caballero declared that "the organized proletariat will carry everything before it and destroy everything until we reach our goal". The country had rapidly become anarchic. Even the staunch socialist Indalecio Prieto , at a party rally in Cuenca in May 1936, complained: "we have never seen so tragic a panorama or so great

4025-587: A society that traditionally had held women in lower regard. Women acquired power they had not previously had in Spanish society, fighting at the front and doing heavy jobs, things that had been forbidden to them until then. Free love became popular, although some parents' distrust produced the creation of the revolutionary weddings , informal ceremonies in which the couples declared their status, and that could be annulled if both parties didn't want to continue their relationship. Following Largo Caballero 's assumption of

4186-484: A system of limited proportional voting. Even so, this system has some failures and may discriminate against unions with larger memberships. As an example, "ten unions with 25 adherents would total 250 members having 10 votes. This would be more votes than a union of 2,500, which with 10 times more members would only have the right to 7 votes." Within the CNT this isn't considered a major problem, because agreements tend to reach consensus after long discussions. However, due to

4347-518: A taxi driver was attacked outside a monarchist club sparked anti-clerical violence throughout Madrid and south-west portion of the country. The slow response on the part of the government disillusioned the right and reinforced their view that the Republic was determined to persecute the church. In June and July, the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) called several strikes , which led to

4508-583: A violent incident between CNT members and the Civil Guard and a brutal crackdown by the Civil Guard and the army against the CNT in Seville . This led many workers to believe the Second Spanish Republic was just as oppressive as the monarchy, and the CNT announced its intention of overthrowing it via revolution . Elections in June 1931 returned a large majority of Republicans and Socialists. With

4669-449: A war of religion, and military authorities increasingly deferred to the Church and to the expression of Catholic sentiment. Mola's program was vague and only a rough sketch, and there were disagreements among coupists about their vision. On 12 June, Prime Minister Casares Quiroga met General Juan Yagüe , who falsely convinced Casares of his loyalty to the republic. Mola began planning in

4830-607: A year of intense pressure, CEDA, the party with the most seats in parliament, finally succeeded in forcing the acceptance of three ministries. The Socialists (PSOE) and Communists reacted with an insurrection for which they had been preparing for nine months. The rebellion developed into a bloody uprising known as the Revolution of 1934 . Fairly well armed revolutionaries managed to take the whole province of Asturias, murdering numerous policemen, clergymen and civilians, destroying religious buildings including churches, convents and part of

4991-517: A year. Events in the period after November 1933, called the " black biennium ", seemed to make a civil war more likely. Alejandro Lerroux of the Radical Republican Party (RRP) formed a government, reversing changes made by the previous administration and granting amnesty to the collaborators of the unsuccessful uprising by General José Sanjurjo in August 1932. Some monarchists joined with

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5152-676: Is a Spanish anarcho-syndicalist trade union confederation . Founded in 1910 in Barcelona from groups brought together by the trade union Solidaridad Obrera , it significantly expanded the role of anarchism in Spain , which can be traced to the creation of the Spanish chapter of the IWA in 1870 and its successor organization, the Federation of Workers of the Spanish Region . Despite several decades when

5313-643: Is unforgivable. The argument that Mr Gil Robles tried to destroy the Constitution to establish fascism was, at once, hypocritical and false. With the rebellion of 1934, the Spanish left lost even the shadow of moral authority to condemn the rebellion of 1936." Reversals of land reform resulted in expulsions, firings and arbitrary changes to working conditions in the central and southern countryside in 1935, with landowners' behaviour at times reaching "genuine cruelty", which included violence against farmworkers and socialists, causing several deaths. One historian argued that

5474-536: The Federación Anarquista Ibérica (FAI), an association of anarchist affinity groups , was created in Valencia . The FAI would play an important role during the following years through the so-called trabazón (connection) with the CNT, that is, the presence of FAI elements in the CNT, encouraging the labor union not to move away from its anarchist principles, an influence that continues today. After

5635-563: The Carlist movement to establish an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty , further destabilized the Spanish monarchy. In 1868, popular uprisings led to the overthrow of Queen Isabella II of the House of Bourbon . Two distinct factors led to the uprisings: a series of urban riots and a liberal movement within the middle classes and the military (led by General Joan Prim ), which was concerned about

5796-657: The Free Workers' Union (FAU), were expelled from the AIT; they were the three largest union federations in the international, representing up to 90% of its working membership. In 2018, the CNT, USI and FAU established the International Confederation of Labour ( Spanish : Confederación Internacional del Trabajo ; CIT), which also attracted the affiliation of the North American Industrial Workers of

5957-743: The Guardia de Asalto (Assault Guard). Castillo was a Socialist party member who was giving military training to the UGT youth. Castillo had led the Assault Guards that violently suppressed the riots after the funeral of Guardia Civil lieutenant Anastasio de los Reyes. Assault Guard Captain Fernando Condés was a friend of Castillo. The next day, after getting the approval of the minister of interior to illegally arrest members of parliament, he led his squad to arrest José María Gil-Robles y Quiñones , founder of CEDA, as

6118-547: The Iberian Peninsula to coincide with the risings there. The rising was intended to be a swift coup d'état, but the government retained control of most of the country. Control over Spanish Morocco was all but certain. The plan was discovered in Morocco on 17 July, which prompted the conspirators to enact it immediately. Little resistance was encountered. The rebels shot 189 people. Goded and Franco immediately took control of

6279-730: The Radical Republican Party , had now endured a series of crises. After a number of corruption scandals, President Niceto Alcalá-Zamora , who was hostile to this government, called another election. The Popular Front narrowly won the 1936 general election . The revolutionary left-wing masses took to the streets and freed prisoners. In the thirty-six hours following the election, sixteen people were killed (mostly by police officers attempting to maintain order or to intervene in violent clashes) and thirty-nine were seriously injured. Additionally, fifty churches and seventy conservative political centres were attacked or set ablaze. Manuel Azaña

6440-531: The corrupt central government of the country in Madrid , but these circles were ultimately unsuccessful. Popular perception of communism as a major threat significantly increased during this period. In 1923, a military coup brought Miguel Primo de Rivera to power. As a result, Spain transitioned to government by military dictatorship. Support for the Rivera regime gradually faded, and he resigned in January 1930. He

6601-515: The state . The CNT is rooted in three basic principles: workers' self-management or autogestión , federalism and mutual aid , and considers that work conflicts must be settled between employers and employees without the action of such intermediaries as official state organisms or professional unionists. This is why the union criticizes union elections and works councils as means of control for managers, preferring workers' assemblies, union sections and direct action . Also, when possible,

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6762-525: The 'Counter-Revolution in Spain'. ILP General Secretary Fenner Brockway argued that the Communists were on the wrong side of the barricades and were now 'committed to the defence of property', suggesting that the Communist Parties not only in Spain, but everywhere, had ceased to be revolutionary parties. The Communist Party responded by accusing the ILP of 'taking part in the fascist rising'. On 16 June,

6923-745: The 11th Division, under Enrique Líster , entered the region. On 11 August 1937, the Republican government, now situated in Valencia, dismissed the Regional Council for the Defense of Aragon. Líster's division was prepared for an offensive on the Aragonese front, but they were also sent to subdue the collectives run by the CNT-UGT and in dismantling the collective structures created the previous twelve months. The offices of

7084-473: The Anselmo Lorenzo Foundation, which was created in 1987. The CNT generally avoids bringing matters to a vote, preferring consensus decision-making, which it considers to be more in tune with its anarchist principles . While pure consensus is plausible for individual base unions, higher levels of organizations cannot completely avoid the need for some type of vote, which is always done openly by

7245-623: The Army of Africa, made up of 35,000 men, and just under half of Spain's militaristic police forces, the Assault Guards, the Civil Guards , and the Carabineers . Republicans controlled under half of the rifles and about a third of both machine guns and artillery pieces. The Spanish Republican Army had just 18 tanks of a sufficiently modern design, and the Nationalists took control of 10. Naval capacity

7406-513: The Bourbons were restored to the throne in the figure of Alfonso XII , Isabella's son. After the restoration, Carlists and anarchists emerged in opposition to the monarchy. Alejandro Lerroux , Spanish politician and leader of the Radical Republican Party , helped to bring republicanism to the fore in Catalonia —a region of Spain with its own cultural and societal identity in which poverty

7567-454: The CNT avoids taking legal action through the courts. Administrative positions in the union rotate and are unpaid. The organizational structure of the CNT is based on direct democracy . The industrial unions (sometimes referred to as "branch unions") form the base structure of the CNT. Each industrial union groups together workers of different crafts within an industry. When there are fewer than 25 people working in one particular industry,

7728-575: The CNT grew stronger. Around that time, panic spread among employers, giving rise to the practice of pistolerismo (employing thugs to intimidate active unionists), causing a spiral of violence which significantly affected the trade union. These pistoleros were known to have killed 21 union leaders in 48 hours. The CNT had an outstanding role in the events of the La Canadiense general strike , which paralyzed 70% of industry in Catalonia in 1919,

7889-577: The CNT in March 1937, the national committee asked for a motion of censure to suppress the Aragonese Regional Council. The Aragonese regional committee threatened to resign, which thwarted the censure effort. Though there had always been disagreements, that spring also saw a great escalation in confrontations between the CNT-FAI and the Communists. In Madrid, Melchor Rodríguez , who was then a member of

8050-578: The CNT joined the Central Committee of the Anti-Fascist Militias, which joined the Generalitat on 26 September. For the first time, three members of the CNT were also members of the government. In November, Caballero once again asked the CNT to become part of the government. The leadership of the CNT requested the finance and war ministries, as well as three others, but were given four posts,

8211-697: The CNT may have their own media. Solidaridad Obrera ("Workers' Solidarity") is the journal of the Regional Confederation of Labor of Catalonia. It was established in 1907, being the oldest communication medium of the CNT. Other media are La tira de papel , the Graphic Arts, Media and Shows National Coordinator bulletin; the Cenit , newspaper of the Regional Committee of the Exterior; and BICEL , edited by

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8372-831: The CNT reached 1.58 million) the CNT participated only from the background. However, the CNT's Regional Confederation of Labor of Asturias, León and Palencia actively participated in the revolution because of its loyalty to workers' alliances, this time formalized through the Uníos Hermanos Proletarios (UHP; Unite Brothers of the Proletariat) in the pact with the UGT and the Asturian Socialist Federation . Thus, in La Felguera and in El Llano district of Gijón there were short periods when anarchist communism

8533-559: The CNT took place in Alt Llobregat , Catalonia. In some places the workers took control of the streets and proclaimed libertarian communism replacing the republican flags with the red and black ones. The strike was suppressed by the use of the police and the military and several leading figures of the workers' side were arrested and some deported to Spanish colonies in Africa ( Spanish Morocco , Western Sahara and Guinea ). In January 1933

8694-428: The CNT were destroyed, and all the equipment belonging to its collectives was redistributed to landowners. The CNT leadership not only refused to allow the anarchist columns on the Aragon front to leave the front to defend the collectives, but they failed to condemn the government's actions against the collectives, causing much conflict between it and the rank and file membership of the union. In April 1938, Juan Negrín

8855-448: The CNT's Barcelona regional committee declared a general strike . The CNT controlled the majority of the city, including the heavy artillery on the hill of Montjuïc overlooking the city. CNT militias disarmed more than 200 members of the security forces at their barricades, allowing only CNT vehicles to pass through. After unsuccessful appeals from the CNT leadership to end the fighting, the government began transferring Assault Guard from

9016-405: The CNT, and director of prisons in Madrid, published accusations that the Communist José Cazorla , who was then overseeing public order, was maintaining secret prisons to hold anarchists, socialists, and other republicans, and either executing, or torturing them as "traitors". Soon after, on this pretext, Largo Caballero dissolved the Communist-controlled Junta de Defensa. Cazorla reacted by closing

9177-431: The CNT-in-exile) stood against further collaboration with the government. Even Federica Montseny, who had joined the Republic as Minister of Health changed her stance on collaboration, describing the "futility of...participation in the government." In January 1960, the MLE was formed by the CNT, the FAI, and the FIJL. In September of the next year, a congress was held in Limoges , at which the Sección Defensa Interior (DI)

9338-418: The CNT. In 1989, the Supreme Court of Spain banned the dissident faction from using the name of the CNT. The pro-electoral faction subsequently reorganised into the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), which began to participate in union elections, while the CNT itself continued to oppose electoral participation. Participation in the union elections resulted in the growth of the CGT, which became one of

9499-409: The Carlists, Mola was chief planner and second in command. José Antonio Primo de Rivera was put in prison in mid-March to restrict the Falange. However, government actions were not as thorough as they might have been, and warnings by the Director of Security and other figures were not acted upon. The revolt was devoid of ideology. The goal was to put an end to anarchical disorder. Mola's plan for

9660-478: The Catholic country, which included the abolition of Catholic schools and charities, a move which was met with opposition. At this point, once the constituent assembly had fulfilled its mandate of approving a new constitution, but fearing an increasing popular opposition, the Radical and Socialist majority postponed the regular elections, prolonging their time in power for two more years. Diaz's Republican government initiated numerous reforms to, in their view, modernize

9821-446: The Franco years, as well as conducting activities from exile, and some members kept on fighting the Spanish State until 1948 through the guerrilla actions of maquis . There was much disagreement amongst factions of the CNT during these years. There was a major split after the National Committee inside Spain chose to support members of the Republican government in exile, while members of the Libertarian Movement in Exile (MLE) (basically

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9982-427: The Nationalists. These peace overtures, however, were rejected by Franco. Following internal conflict between Republican factions in Madrid in the same month, Franco entered the capital and declared victory on 1 April 1939. Hundreds of thousands of Spaniards fled to refugee camps in southern France . Those associated with the losing Republicans who stayed were persecuted by the victorious Nationalists. Franco established

10143-413: The POUM was made illegal, accused of collaborating with the enemy. Its leaders were arrested and Andreu Nin murdered. ILP leader John McNair arrived in Barcelona on 18 June with money and documents to organise the evacuation of the ILP contingent and was promptly arrested as a "POUM agent" but was released when he had proven his identity. He then went into hiding with Orwell and Cottman and managed to leave

10304-468: The Popular Front's victory in the 1936 election, groups of officers, both active and retired, got together to discuss a coup . By the end of April General Emilio Mola emerged as the leader of a national conspiracy network. The Republican government reacted by reshuffling suspect generals from influential posts, Azana however acutely aware that as he did so, the Army still served as a possible buffer to leftist power brokers threatening his government. Franco

10465-541: The Republican government fought for control of the country. The Nationalist forces received munitions, soldiers, and air support from Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany while the Republican side received support from the Soviet Union and Mexico. Other countries, such as the United Kingdom, France , and the United States, continued to recognise the Republican government but followed an official policy of non-intervention . Despite this policy, tens of thousands of citizens from non-interventionist countries directly participated in

10626-425: The Republican-Socialist government alienated as many people as they pleased. Republican Manuel Azaña became prime minister of a minority government in October 1931. Fascism remained a reactive threat and it was facilitated by controversial reforms to the military. In December, a new reformist, liberal and democratic constitution was declared. It included strong provisions enforcing a broad secularisation of

10787-409: The Republicans, with the participation of local authorities varying from location to location. The 19th century was a turbulent time for Spain. Those in favour of reforming the Spanish government vied for political power with conservatives who intended to prevent such reforms from being implemented. In a tradition that started with the Spanish Constitution of 1812 , many liberals sought to curtail

10948-462: The UGT had agreed to arbitration. In retaliation to the attacks by the Falangists, anarchists killed three bodyguards of the Falangist leader José Antonio Primo de Rivera . The government then closed the CNT's centers in Madrid , and arrested David Antona and Cipriano Mera, two CNT militants. The Civil War era also showed a spirit of sexual revolution . The anarchist women's organization Mujeres Libres established an equal opportunity for women in

11109-442: The ambulance with Edwards and who, because of his experience in artillery, had stayed on; Doran; Harry Thomas of London and Arthur Chambers, who died in 1938 after transferring to a CNT unit. Few others, apart from Harry Webb, the stretcher-bearer and O'Hara, who had some training in first aid, had either military or medical experience. Arriving at the Lenin Barracks in Barcelona , where they were initially stationed, on 10 January,

11270-445: The authority of the Spanish monarchy as well as to establish a nation-state under the ideology and philosophy that they believed in. The reforms of 1812 were short-lived as they were almost immediately overturned by King Ferdinand VII when he dissolved the aforementioned constitution. This ended the Trienio Liberal government. Twelve successful coups were carried out between 1814 and 1874. There were several attempts to realign

11431-428: The beginning of Spain's transition to democracy , the CNT was the only social movement to refuse to sign the 1977 Moncloa Pact , an agreement amongst politicians, political parties, and trade unions to plan how to operate the economy during the transition. In 1979, the CNT held its first congress since 1936 as well as several mass meetings, the most remarkable one in Montjuïc. Views put forward in this congress would set

11592-516: The behaviour of the right in the southern countryside was one of the main causes of hatred during the Civil War and possibly even the Civil War itself. Landowners taunted workers by saying that if they went hungry, they should "Go eat the Republic!" Bosses fired leftist workers and imprisoned trade union and socialist militants; wages were reduced to "salaries of hunger". In 1935, the government, led by

11753-476: The bottom up, through different levels of confederations, following the Principle of Federation. The reason for favoring this structure is intended to limit homogeneity in committees, and keep them from having politics or programs. It is also intended to minimize the power of individuals who may be more active in the organization. The different industry and various posts unions of a particular municipality constitute

11914-594: The changes, which they denounced as "reformist" and "un-democratic", and split off from the CNT. The strategic changes also caused conflict between the CNT and other members of the AIT, particulary the Confederation of Russian Anarcho-Syndicalists  [ ru ] (KRAS) and the Union of Syndicalists of Poland  [ pl ] (ZSP). In 2016, the CNT, along with the Italian Syndicalist Union (USI) and

12075-535: The company of armed militants. Conservatives, the middle classes, businessmen and landowners became convinced that revolution had already begun. Prime Minister Santiago Casares Quiroga ignored warnings of a military conspiracy involving several generals, who decided that the government had to be replaced to prevent the dissolution of Spain. Both sides had become convinced that, if the other side gained power, it would discriminate against their members and attempt to suppress their political organisations. Shortly after

12236-559: The conflict. They fought mostly in the pro-Republican International Brigades , which also included several thousand exiles from pro-Nationalist regimes. Smaller numbers of pro-Republican international volunteer fighters fought in the POUM , the CNT and the UGT . After the deaths of José Sanjurjo on July 20, 1936, Manuel Goded Llopis on August 12, 1936, and Emilio Mola on June 3, 1937, Franco gradually emerged as

12397-557: The council, while Cipriano Mera 's 70th Division provided military support, and Melechor Rodríquez became mayor of Madrid. In 1939 the Law of Political Responsibilities outlawed the CNT and expropriated its assets. At that time the organization had a million members and a large infrastructure. According to one estimate, roughly 160,000–180,000 members of the CNT were killed by the Franco government . The CNT acted clandestinely inside Spain during

12558-539: The country. In 1932, the Jesuits were banned and their property was confiscated, the army was reduced, landowners were expropriated. Home rule was granted to Catalonia, with a local parliament and a president of its own. In June 1933, Pope Pius XI issued the encyclical Dilectissima Nobis , "On Oppression of the Church of Spain", raising his voice against the persecution of the Catholic Church in Spain. In November 1933,

12719-463: The country. Most of the rest of the contingent returned to Britain over the next six months. Spanish Civil War Nationalist victory [REDACTED] Republicans [REDACTED] Nationalists 100,000–200,000 civilians killed inside the Nationalist zone 50,000–72,000 civilians killed inside the Republican zone The Spanish Civil War ( Spanish : guerra civil española )

12880-444: The coup to prevent it from being crushed swiftly. The rebels termed themselves Nacionales , normally translated "Nationalists", although the former implies "true Spaniards" rather than a nationalistic cause . The result of the coup was a nationalist area of control containing 11 million of Spain's population of 25 million. The Nationalists had secured the support of around half of Spain's territorial army, some 60,000 men, joined by

13041-578: The coup very quickly. Conversely, if the coup had risen everywhere in Spain on the 18th rather than be delayed, it could have triumphed by the 22nd. While the militias that rose to meet the rebels were often untrained and poorly armed (possessing only a small number of pistols, shotguns and dynamite), this was offset by the fact that the rebellion was not universal. In addition, the Falangists and Carlists were themselves often not particularly powerful fighters either. However, enough officers and soldiers had joined

13202-413: The coup, though it seems Mola did not envision the mass atrocities and repression that would manifest during the civil war. Of particular importance to Mola was ensuring the revolt was an Army affair, not subject to special interests, ensuring the position of the armed forces as the basis for the new state. However, the separation of church and state was forgotten once the conflict assumed the dimension of

13363-593: The crime. CNT members declared that the prosecution sought to criminalize their organization: In 1996, the Economic and Social Council facilities in Madrid were squatted by 105 CNT militants. Following the Spanish transition to democracy , the Moncloa Pacts outlined the new structure for Spanish society and was approved by all social movements, with the exception of the CNT, which refused to ratify it. The pacts established

13524-475: The current social system, prepare them for future emancipation, when the means of production have been socialized, to practice mutual aid amongst CNT collectives , and maintain relationships with other like-minded groups hoping for emancipation of the entire working class . The CNT is also concerned with issues beyond the working class, desiring a radical transformation of society through revolutionary syndicalism . To achieve their goal of social revolution ,

13685-478: The day after the contingent left, the British government announced that it would prosecute anyone going to fight in Spain and the ILP did not try to recruit any more volunteers. On arriving in Barcelona , they had two weeks of very basic training, and were joined by Bob Smillie, grandson of the well-known Scottish socialist and miners' leader of the same name . Smillie had been in Barcelona working with John McNair as

13846-501: The desertion of Nationalists. The main descriptions of fighting against the Nationalists which appears both in Homage to Catalonia and in the New Leader , concerned a night attack in which some of the contingent took part resulting in injuries to Reg Hiddlestone, Paddy Thomas and Douglas Thompson. Injuries were also sustained at other times, Blair himself was famously shot through the throat by

14007-431: The distribution of weapons among the civilian population. This facilitated the defeat of the army insurrection in the main industrial centres, including Madrid, Barcelona , and Valencia , but it allowed anarchists to take control of Barcelona along with large swathes of Aragón and Catalonia. General Goded surrendered in Barcelona and was later condemned to death. The Republican government ended up controlling almost all

14168-468: The east coast and central area around Madrid, as well as most of Asturias , Cantabria and part of the Basque Country in the north. Hugh Thomas suggested that the civil war could have ended in the favour of either side almost immediately if certain decisions had been taken during the initial coup. Thomas argues that if the government had taken steps to arm the workers, they could probably have crushed

14329-408: The electoral results but did not succeed. Despite CEDA's electoral victory, President Alcalá-Zamora declined to invite its leader, Gil Robles, to form a government, fearing CEDA's monarchist sympathies and proposed changes to the constitution. Instead, he invited the Radical Republican Party 's Alejandro Lerroux to do so. Despite receiving the most votes, CEDA was denied cabinet positions for nearly

14490-499: The end of January the ILP contingent, as the British section of the POUM militia, began their journey, stopping off at Lerida , where they were visited by the ILP's representative in Spain, John McNair, before leaving for the area surrounding Huesca on the Aragon Front on 2 February. At the front, the contingent took over three advanced posts, about 100 yards distant from the others, joined by communication trenches . The outposts, on

14651-495: The fall of the monarchy in 1931, the CNT offered minimal support to the Second Republic . This support decreased progressively during the years between 1931 and 1933 because of constant confrontations with the republican authorities in the successive general strikes, including the 1931 Barcelona rent strike . The end of that period was marked by so-called revolutions of January and December, both of which were swiftly suppressed by

14812-563: The fall without resistance of Barcelona in January 1939, the Francoist regime was recognised by France and the United Kingdom in February 1939. On 5 March 1939, in response to an alleged increasing communist dominance of the Republican government and the deteriorating military situation, Colonel Segismundo Casado led a military coup against the Republican government , intending to seek peace with

14973-549: The fighting was over. These events , the fall of Largo Caballero's government, and the new prime ministership of Juan Negrín soon led to the collapse of much that the CNT had achieved immediately following the rising the previous July. At the beginning of July, the Aragonese organizations of the Popular Front publicly declared their support for the alternative council in Aragon, led by their president, Joaquín Ascaso . Four weeks later

15134-549: The first month of the Popular Front's government, nearly a quarter of the provincial governors had been removed due to their failure to prevent or control strikes, illegal land occupation, political violence and arson. The Popular Front government was more likely to prosecute rightists for violence than leftists who committed similar acts. Between February and July, approximately 300 to 400 deaths occurred from political violence, while hundreds of churches, religious buildings and monuments were destroyed, damaged, or vandalised. Azaña

15295-453: The front to Barcelona, and even destroyers from Valencia. On 5 May, the Friends of Durruti issued a pamphlet calling for "disarming of the paramilitary police… dissolution of the political parties…" and declared "Long live the social revolution! – Down with the counter-revolution!" The pamphlet was quickly denounced by the leadership of the CNT. The next day, the government agreed to a proposal by

15456-409: The front, the initial group of twenty-five was sent to the front at Monte Oscuro, within sight of Zaragoza , some 12 miles to the south west, where they joined by a number of others who had arrived at the front a few weeks earlier, including Eric Blair, not yet using his pen name George Orwell ; an Australian, Harvey Buttonshaw; US Revolutionary Workers League member Wolf Kupinski ; and Bob Williams,

15617-447: The government to send larger police forces to arrest rioters and stop the rebellion. Many peasants fled the town but a group of anarchists resisted arrest and were barricaded in the house of an anarchist, Francisco Cruz Gutiérrez. When the guards under the command of Captain Rojas arrived, they set the house on fire with the anarchists and their families still inside. Everyone inside the house

15778-400: The government's opponents on the right. Although the nationalist generals were planning an uprising, the event was a catalyst and a public justification for a coup. Stanley Payne claims that before these events, the idea of rebellion by army officers against the government had weakened; Mola had estimated only 12% of officers reliably supported the coup and Mola considered fleeing for fear he

15939-502: The government. In those days the CNT functioned primarily in Catalonia, but was also gaining importance in other regions, such as Andalusia and Aragon (where it had a higher membership than the UGT). In Ceuta , the CNT's organ was the weekly Despertar , launched in December 1931, but its publication was discontinued the next year. Tensions between the radical faístas , or FAI members, and

16100-554: The grocery stores who controlled the number of neighbors in each street and produced the distribution of food. This street-by-street control made it easy to determine the amount of bread and other goods needed. The Supply Committee managed the general control over the available stock, especially flour. The CNT held a congress in Saragossa on 1 May 1936, ratifying the position that the union should make no pacts with any political party, despite UGT leader Largo Caballero 's attempts to persuade

16261-803: The help of the British intelligence agents, the rebels chartered a Dragon Rapide aircraft to transport Franco from the Canary Islands to Spanish Morocco . Franco arrived in Morocco on 19 July. Franco was offered this position as Mola's planning for the coup had become increasingly complex and it did not look like it would be as swift as he hoped, instead likely turning into a miniature civil war that would last weeks. Mola had concluded troops in Spain were insufficient and it would be necessary to use elite units from North Africa, something Franco had always believed would be necessary. On 12 July 1936, Falangists in Madrid killed police officer Lieutenant José Castillo of

16422-567: The industry and various posts unions attend the CNT Congress with agreements from their own assemblies, independently from the local and regional levels. Among its duties, the Congress has to decide upon the CNT general line of action, and can appoint new National Committees. The initial constitutional congress was in September 1911, a year after the CNT's foundation. All organs and trade unions within

16583-423: The industry and various posts unions resides in the union assembly : decisions are taken by all of the workers of the union in question via a system of direct democracy and consensus . These assemblies may address any number of issues, whether "local, provincial, regional, national or international". Unlike organizations that are organized from the top down, the CNT organises itself in an anarchistic fashion, from

16744-424: The islands to which they were assigned. On 18 July, Casares Quiroga refused an offer of help from the CNT and Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT), leading the groups to proclaim a general strike—in effect, mobilising. They opened weapons caches, some buried since the 1934 risings, and formed militias. The paramilitary security forces often waited for the outcome of militia action before either joining or suppressing

16905-425: The largest union centers in the country, while the CNT maintained a relatively small membership. By the 21st century, the CNT had split into two factions: the anarchist faction, which saw the CNT mainly as a political organisation ; and the syndicalist faction, which viewed the CNT as a workers' organisation for taking industrial action . The anarchist faction concentrated on maintaining the ideological purity of

17066-448: The law shut out workers seeking extra income as pickers. Newly established labour arbitration boards regulated salaries, contracts, and working hours, but were more favourable to workers than employers. A decree in July 1931 increased overtime pay and several laws in late 1931 restricted whom landowners could hire. Other efforts included decrees limiting: the use of machinery; efforts to create

17227-463: The leadership of the CNT-FAI, that called for the removal of the Assault Guards, and no reprisals against libertarians that had participated in the conflict, in exchange for the dismantling of barricades, and end of the general strike. However, neither the PSUC or the Assault Guards gave up their positions, and according to historian Antony Beevor "carried out violent reprisals against libertarians" By 8 May,

17388-507: The left, was quite fragmented: on the one hand socialists and communists supported the republic but on the other, during the republic, anarchists had mixed opinions, though both major groups opposed the Nationalists during the Civil War; the latter, in contrast, were united by their fervent opposition to the Republican government and presented a more unified front. Confederaci%C3%B3n Nacional del Trabajo The Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) ( National Confederation of Labor )

17549-452: The local federation of unions that are coordinated by means of a local committee which has the same characteristics and powers as the union committees. The local committee is selected in the local plenary assembly to which every industry and various posts union can send delegations with written agreements previously adopted in their assembly. CNT has Local Federations in Madrid, Barcelona, Granada , and Seville . Direct representatives of

17710-463: The mining basin of León. It lasted about a week before being completely dominated by law enforcement and in some places by the intervention of the army. The two years governed by the coalition of the center to center-right Partido Republicano Radical and the right to far-right CEDA were marked by mostly clandestine CNT activity, in the face of severe government repression. During the socialist Revolution of October 1934 (at which point membership in

17871-415: The ministries of health, justice, industry, and commerce. With Federica Montseny became Minister of Health, the first female minister in Spain. Juan García Oliver , as minister of justice, abolished legal fees and destroyed all criminal files. Shortly afterwards, despite the disapproval of the anarchist ministers, the capital was moved from Madrid to Valencia. In Catalonia CNT was instrumental in preventing

18032-638: The moderate non- faístas were constant and difficult to analyze because of the decentralized and sectorial nature of the organization. Finally, in 1931 a group of moderates published the Manifesto of the Thirty , which would give rise to Treintism (from treinta , thirty in Spanish), and in 1932 Ángel Pestaña split from the CNT to create the Syndicalist Party . In January 1932 a revolutionary strike organized by

18193-452: The nature of consensus decision-making, the final agreements consensed to may bear little resemblance to the initial proposals brought to the table. In 1910, in the middle of the restoration, the CNT was founded in Barcelona in a congress of the Catalan trade union Solidaridad Obrera (Workers' Solidarity) with the objective of constituting an opposing force to the then-majority trade union,

18354-521: The new regime was a "republican dictatorship", modelled after Salazar's Portugal and along the lines of being semi-pluralist authoritarian, rather than fascist totalitarian. The initial government would be an all-military "Directory", which would create a "strong and disciplined state". Sanjurjo would be the head of this new regime, due to being liked and respected within the military, though his position would be symbolic due to his lack of political talent. The 1931 Constitution would be suspended, replaced by

18515-516: The offices of Solidaridad Obrera . In Catalonia, the Catalan Communists in the Catalan government made several demands that provoked the ire of the anarchists, in particular the call for turning all weapons over to the control of the government. The 8 April 1937 issue of Solidaridad Obrera opined, "We have made too many concessions and have reached the moment of turning off the tap". In May,

18676-630: The onset of the Great Depression , the government tried to assist rural Spain by instituting an eight-hour day and redistributing land tenure to farm workers. The rural workers lived in some of the worst poverty in Europe at the time and the government tried to increase their wages and improve working conditions. This estranged small and medium landholders who used hired labour. The Law of Municipal Boundaries forbade owners from hiring workers outside their locality. When some localities had labour shortages,

18837-737: The organisation, in opposition to reformist tendencies ; it was opposed to any rapprochement with the CGT, believed there to be a conspiracy to reunify the two confederations, and staunchly refused to cooperate with any other organisation. On the other side, the syndicalist faction was chiefly concerned with the marginalisation of the CNT in the labour movement, which it believed to have resulted from its failure to organise trade unions. The syndicalists prioritised union activities and believed that anarcho-syndicalism needed to be updated for modern material conditions; they also advocated for cooperation with other organisations in industrial actions. The anarchist faction

18998-456: The organization has outlined a social-economic system through the confederal concept of anarchist communism , which consists of a series of general ideas proposed for the organization of an anarchist society. The CNT draws inspiration from anarchist ideas, and also identifies with the struggles of different social movements . The CNT is internationalist , but also supports communities' right of self-determination and their sovereignty over

19159-510: The organization was illegal in Spain, the CNT continues to participate in the Spanish worker's movement , focusing its efforts on the principles of workers' self-management , federalism , and mutual aid . Historically affiliated with the International Workers' Association (AIT), in 2018, the CNT and other unions founded the International Confederation of Labour (ICL-CIT). The CNT says of its membership, "We make no distinction at

19320-534: The other members of the contingent were diverse. Members were recorded as coming from South Africa (Buck Parker), the United States (Harry Milton, Wales , Belfast (Paddy O'Hara), Chorley , Larkhall , Glasgow (Charles Doran), Anglesey , Manchester , Bristol (Tom Coles), Dartford , Bingley , Twickenham and Golders Green . Four had fought in the First World War : Martin, who had gone to Spain driving

19481-557: The other side, Blanco was responsible for installing other CNT members into the ministry of education, and stopping the spread of "Communist propaganda" by the ministry. In March 1939, with the war nearly over, CNT leaders participated in the National Defense Council's coup overthrowing the government of the Socialist Juan Negrín. Those involved included the CNT's Eduardo Val and José Manuel González Marín serving on

19642-450: The pattern for the CNT's line of action for the following decades: no participation in union elections, no acceptance of state subsidies, no acknowledgment of works councils , and support of union sections. One year before, the 1978 Scala Case affected the CNT. An explosion killed three people in a Barcelona night club. The authorities alleged that striking workers "blew themselves up", and arrested surviving strikers, implicating them in

19803-465: The people before the military took over. The prime minister was hesitant. The uprising's timing was fixed at 17 July, at 17:01, agreed to by the leader of the Carlists, Manuel Fal Conde . However, the timing was changed—the men in the Morocco protectorate were to rise up at 05:00 on 18 July and those in Spain proper a day later so that control of Spanish Morocco could be achieved and forces sent back to

19964-513: The police, the Guardia Civil retook control of the town and killed 10 peasants while also detaining 250 more. The most well-known case of repression was the Casas Viejas incident which discredited the government partly leading to its electoral defeat in 1933 elections . During riots in Casas Viejas , where workers had proclaimed libertarian communism, two police officers were wounded, leading

20125-407: The political system to match social reality. Until the 1850s, the economy of Spain was primarily based on agriculture . There was little development of a bourgeois industrial or commercial class. The land-based oligarchy remained powerful; a small number of people held large estates called latifundia as well as all of the important positions in government. The mid-century Carlist Wars , fought by

20286-426: The position of Prime Minister of the government, he invited the CNT to join in the coalition of groups making up the national government. The CNT proposed instead that a National Defense Council should be formed, led by Largo Caballero, and containing five members each from the CNT and UGT, and four "liberal republicans". When this proposal was declined, the CNT decided not to join the government. However, in Catalonia,

20447-468: The primarily conservative and Catholic areas of Old Castile and León , which fell quickly. They took Cádiz with help from the first troops from Africa. The government retained control of Málaga , Jaén , and Almería . In Madrid, the rebels were hemmed into the Cuartel de la Montaña siege , which fell with considerable bloodshed. Republican leader Casares Quiroga was replaced by José Giral , who ordered

20608-405: The primary leader of the Nationalist side. The Nationalists advanced from their strongholds in the south and west, capturing most of Spain's northern coastline in 1937. They also besieged Madrid and the area to its south and west for much of the war. After much of Catalonia was captured in 1938 and 1939, and Madrid cut off from Barcelona, the Republican military position became hopeless. Following

20769-526: The pro-election "renovators" and anti-election "officials" held roughly equal voting shares. At a subsequent Extraordinary Congress, held in Torrejón de Ardoz in March-April 1983, the "officials" blocked the "renovators" from speaking or voting, resulting in the passage of anti-electoral resolutions. The "renovators", including general secretary José Bondía , resigned in protest and joined the dissident faction of

20930-578: The provincial capitals and, following the resignation of Aznar's government, Alfonso XIII fled the country. At this time, the Second Spanish Republic was formed. This republic remained in power until the beginning of the civil war five years later. The revolutionary committee headed by Niceto Alcalá-Zamora became the provisional government, with Alcalá-Zamora himself as president and head of state . The republic had broad support from all segments of society. In May 1931, an incident in which

21091-424: The rebellion and was released from prison in January 1935. In sparking an uprising, the non-anarchist socialists, like the anarchists, manifested their conviction that the existing political order was illegitimate. The Spanish historian Salvador de Madariaga , an Azaña supporter and an exiled vocal opponent of Francisco Franco, wrote a sharp criticism of the left's participation in the revolt: "The uprising of 1934

21252-507: The rebellion. Quick action by either the rebels or anarchist militias was often enough to decide the fate of a town. General Gonzalo Queipo de Llano secured Seville for the rebels, arresting a number of other officers. The rebels failed to take any major cities with the critical exception of the July 1936 military uprising in Seville , which provided a landing point for Franco's African troops, and

21413-542: The representative Youth section of the International Bureau for Revolutionary Socialist Unity . However, he became convinced that he would be of most service at the front and persuaded McNair to let him sign up when the ILP contingent came over. He later died in Valencia. The ILP contingent was attached to the POUM’s English-speaking contingent, as part of the centuria commanded by Georges Kopp . Once at

21574-553: The right-wing parties won the general election . The causal factors were increased resentment of the incumbent government caused by a controversial decree implementing land reform, by the Casas Viejas incident , and the formation of a right-wing alliance, Spanish Confederation of Autonomous Right-wing Groups (CEDA). Another factor was the recent enfranchisement of women, most of whom voted for centre-right parties. According to Stanley G. Payne and Jesús Palacios Tapias , left Republicans attempted to have Niceto Alcalá Zamora cancel

21735-553: The significance of Barcelona for the ILP lay not so much in the events themselves as in the reaction to the situation. Immediately after the events the Communist press began to attack POUM, claiming they were solely responsible for the fighting and were in league with the fascists in doing so. These accusations were quickly published in the Daily Worker , appearing in the 11 May issue. The New Leader of 21 May carried extensive comment on

21896-458: The slope of the hills looking west, were about two hundred yards from the nearest Nationalist lines on the opposite slopes looking east. Bob Edwards, reporting in the New Leader , the ILP's weekly paper, was keen to stress the most 'exciting' aspects of the unit's work. He wrote about scouting within hearing distance along the Nationalist lines with Blair, of holding their position and dealing with

22057-417: The socialist UGT and "to speed up the economic emancipation of the working class through the revolutionary expropriation of the bourgeoisie". The CNT started small, counting 26,571 members represented through several trade unions and other confederations. In 1911, coinciding with its first congress, the CNT initiated a general strike that provoked a Barcelona judge to declare the union illegal. From 1918 on

22218-494: The spring. Franco was a key player because of his prestige as a former director of the military academy and as the man who suppressed the Asturian miners' strike of 1934 . He was respected in the Army of Africa, the Army's toughest troops. He wrote a cryptic letter to Casares on 23 June, suggesting the military was disloyal, but could be restrained if he were put in charge. Casares did nothing, failing to arrest or buy off Franco. With

22379-406: The start of the civil war; for comparison, the 1931–33 land reform had granted only 6,000 peasants 45,000 hectares. As many strikes occurred between April and July as had occurred in the entirety of 1931. Workers increasingly demanded less work and more pay. "Social crimes"—refusing to pay for goods and rent—became increasingly common by workers, particularly in Madrid. In some cases, this was done in

22540-430: The then fascist-nationalist Falange Española y de las JONS ("Falange") to help achieve their aims. Open violence occurred in the streets of Spanish cities, and militancy continued to increase, reflecting a movement towards radical upheaval, rather than peaceful democratic means as solutions. A small insurrection by anarchists occurred in December 1933 in response to CEDA's victory, in which around 100 people died. After

22701-425: The time of admission, we require only that you are a worker or a student, employed or unemployed. The only people who cannot join are those belonging to repressive organizations (police, military, security guards), employers or other exploiters". As a union organization, and in accordance with its bylaws, the aims of the CNT are to "develop a sense of solidarity among workers", hoping to improve their conditions under

22862-400: The ultra-conservatism of the monarchy. In 1873, Isabella's replacement, King Amadeo I of the House of Savoy , abdicated due to increasing political pressure, and the short-lived First Spanish Republic was proclaimed. The Republic was marred with political instability and conflicts and was quickly overthrown by a coup d'état by General Arsenio Martínez Campos in December 1874, after which

23023-460: The union to stand in unity with the UGT. On 1 June, the CNT joined the UGT in declaring a strike of "building workers, mechanics, and lift operators." A demonstration was held, 70,000 workers strong. Members of the Falange attacked the strikers. The strikers responded by looting shops, and the police reacted by attempting to suppress the strike. By the beginning of July, the CNT was still fighting, while

23184-650: The university at Oviedo. Rebels in the occupied areas proclaimed revolution for the workers and abolished the existing currency. The rebellion was crushed in two weeks by the Spanish Navy and the Spanish Republican Army , the latter using mainly Moorish colonial troops from Spanish Morocco . Azaña was in Barcelona that day, and the Lerroux-CEDA government tried to implicate him. He was arrested and charged with complicity. In fact, Azaña had no connection with

23345-512: The war, it was the " dress rehearsal " for World War II . The Nationalists won the war, which ended in early 1939, and ruled Spain until Franco's death in November 1975. The war began after the partial failure of the coup d'état of July 1936 against the Republican government by a group of generals of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces , with General Emilio Mola as the primary planner and leader and General José Sanjurjo as

23506-516: The year the CNT reached a membership of 700,000. In 1922 the International Workingmen's Association (later International Workers' Association) was founded in Berlin; the CNT joined immediately. However, the following year, with the rise of Miguel Primo de Rivera 's dictatorship, the labor union was again outlawed. In 1927 with the "moderate" positioning of some cenetistas (CNT members)

23667-603: Was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republicans and the Nationalists . Republicans were loyal to the left -leaning Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic , and consisted of various socialist , communist , separatist , anarchist , and republican parties, some of which had opposed the government in the pre-war period. The opposing Nationalists were an alliance of Falangists , monarchists , conservatives , and traditionalists led by

23828-432: Was asked to form a government, and included Segundo Blanco , a member of the CNT, as minister of education, and by this point, the only CNT member left in the cabinet. At this point, many in the CNT leadership were critical of participation in the government, seeing it as dominated by the Communists. Prominent CNT leaders went so far as to refer to Blanco as "sop of the libertarian movement" and "just one more Negrínist." On

23989-517: Was called to form a government before the electoral process had ended. He shortly replaced Zamora as president, taking advantage of a constitutional loophole. Convinced that the left was no longer willing to follow the rule of law and that its vision of Spain was under threat, the right abandoned the parliamentary option and began planning to overthrow the republic, rather than to control it. PSOE's left wing socialists started to take action. Julio Álvarez del Vayo talked about "Spain being converted into

24150-402: Was compromised. He had to be convinced to remain by his co-conspirators. However, the kidnapping and murder of Sotelo transformed the "limping conspiracy" into a revolt that could trigger a civil war. The arbitrary use of lethal force by the state and lack of action against the attackers led to public disapproval of the government. No effective punitive, judicial or even investigative action

24311-502: Was created, to be partially funded by the CNT. By this point, a great majority of the CNT-in-exile had given up on political action as a tool, and one of the main goals of the DI was to assassinate Franco. These divergent attitudes combined with Franco's repression to weaken the organization, and the CNT lost influence among the population inside Spain. After Franco's death in November 1975 and

24472-485: Was hesitant to use the army to shoot or stop rioters or protestors as many of them supported his coalition. On the other hand, he was reluctant to disarm the military as he believed he needed them to stop insurrections from the extreme left. Illegal land occupation became widespread—poor tenant farmers knew the government was disinclined to stop them. By April 1936, nearly 100,000 peasants had appropriated 400,000 hectares of land and perhaps as many as 1 million hectares by

24633-506: Was killed except for Maria Silva Cruz and a little boy. The police then gathered all villagers who owned a gun, marched them to the ashes of the burned house and shot them dead. The third insurrection carried out by the CNT during the Second Spanish Republic was in December 1933 after the 1933 elections. It had its epicenter in Zaragoza and more generally in Aragon and La Rioja and it extended to parts of Extremadura, Andalusia, Catalonia and

24794-472: Was largely led by charismatic leaders , who acted as unifying forces within their organisations and were driven by their visions of a future anarchist society. In contrast, the syndicalist faction was led by administrators , people who were experienced in organising and were easily replaceable. Both factions competed for control over the organisation, causing internal conflicts that disrupted operations and even drove away members. The internal conflict came to

24955-515: Was particularly acute at the time. Conscription was a controversial policy that was eventually implemented by the government of Spain. As evidenced by the Tragic Week in 1909, resentment and resistance were factors that continued well into the 20th century. Spain was neutral in World War I . Following the war, wide swathes of Spanish society, including the armed forces, united in hopes of removing

25116-538: Was put into practice: In the El Llano barricade they proceeded to regularize life according CNT postulates: socialization of wealth and abolition of authority and capitalism. It was a brief experience of great interest, as the revolutionaries did not rule the town. ... A procedure was followed similar to the one in La Felguera. For organization of consumption a Supply Committee was created, with street delegates established in

25277-489: Was replaced by General Dámaso Berenguer , who was in turn himself replaced by Admiral Juan Bautista Aznar-Cabañas ; both men continued a policy of rule by decree . There was little support for the monarchy in the major cities. Consequently, King Alfonso XIII of Spain relented to popular pressure and called municipal elections for 12 April 1931. Left-wing entities such as the Socialist and Liberal Republicans won almost all

25438-493: Was retained by the government—however, the whole of the Republican Air Force was very outdated. The war was cast by Republican sympathisers as a struggle between tyranny and freedom, and by Nationalist supporters as communist and anarchist red hordes versus Christian civilisation. Nationalists also claimed they were bringing security and direction to an ungoverned and lawless country. Spanish politics, especially on

25599-600: Was sacked as chief of staff and transferred to command of the Canary Islands . Manuel Goded Llopis was removed as inspector general and made general of the Balearic Islands . Mola was moved from head of the Army of Africa to commander of Pamplona . This latter reassignment, however, allowed Mola to direct the mainland uprising; General José Sanjurjo became the figurehead of the operation and helped reach an agreement with

25760-534: Was taken; Payne points to a possible veto by socialists within the government who shielded the killers drawn from their ranks. The murder of a parliamentary leader by state police was unprecedented, and the belief the state had ceased to be neutral and effective encouraged important sectors of the right to join the rebellion. Franco changed his mind on rebellion and dispatched a message to Mola to display his firm commitment. The Socialists and Communists, led by Indalecio Prieto , demanded that arms be distributed to

25921-557: Was uneven, with the Republicans retaining a numerical advantage, but with the Navy's top commanders and two of the most modern ships, heavy cruisers Canarias —captured at the Ferrol shipyard—and Baleares , in Nationalist control. The Spanish Republican Navy suffered from the same problems as the army—many officers had defected or been killed after trying to do so. Two-thirds of air capability

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