Summary of Helen Graham's The Spanish Civil War

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The Spanish Civil War began with a military coup in 1936. It was the result of the extremely uneven levels of development that existed in Spain by the 1930s. The war was fought between the elements that clashed in the pre-war domestic environment: urban culture and cosmopolitan lifestyles versus rural tradition, secular versus religious, authoritarianism versus liberal political cultures, and so on. #2 The loss of Spain’s empire in 1898 deprived the country of its protected external markets, which kick-started an intermittent and acrimonious debate over how Spain should modernize itself economically. The arguments in favor of domestic reform made by Spain’s more progressive industrial elites made little headway. #3 Spain was the country that was the least affected by the demands of the war. Rural and provincial Spain was serviced by the populations of agrarian or market towns, which were inhabited by a conservative middle class. The Church hierarchy clung to monarchy not least to stave off the consequences of liberalizing politics and culture. #4 In urban Spain, the First World War was the catalyst for social change. The war produced a economic boom, but it also produced severe forms of inflation and dislocation that greatly affected poorer segments of society.