SOCIAL SCIENCE SUMMARY- XX AND XXI CENTURIES

 

XX AND XXI CENTURIES

1.Alfonso XIII (From 1902 to 1923)

Under his rule there was a movement called regenerationism that consisted of modernising politics, society and the economy.

 

He was not a popular king because of three reasons:

1.     People were unhappy with the two-party political system

2.     Food prices were rising because of World War 1

3.     Spain needed soldiers to protect the colony of Morocco. We suffered heavy losses.

 

2. General Primo de Rivera (From 1923 to 1930)

In 1923 Primo de Rivera organised a coup with the support of Alfonso XIII.

He suspended the Constitution of 1812

He established a dictatorship that lasted until 1930

In the later years of the dictatorship, Spain had an economic decline and bankruptcy.

 

 

3.The Second Republic (from 1931 to 1936)

In 1931, Alfonso XIII held municipal elections.

The Republicans won.

After that, the Second Republic was proclaimed.

The monarchy was abolished and Alfonso XIII went into exile.

In 1931, a new Constitution was approved. Its main characteristics were:

a-    Freedom of speech and religio

b-    Women had the right to vote

c-     Equality for all Spanish citizens and took away the special status of Spanish nobility.

d-    Limited the powers of the Catholic Church

e-     Allowed more regional autonomy.

 

4.    Coup d’etat and Civil War (from 1936 to 1939)

1-COUP D’ETAT: In 1936, Generals Mola, Sanjurjo and Franco attempted a military coup. They failed and it was the start of a civil war.

This split Spain into two sides: the Republicans and the rebels who were led by General Franco.

 

2.THE CIVIL WAR: The war lasted three years.

The rebels: took the African colonies first. Later, they continued to advance and control more territory.

The Republicans: held the main cities in the centre, north and east of the Country.

The war ended in 1939 when Franco’s troops took Madrid and won the war.

 

 

5.    Franco`s dictatorship (1939-1975)

1) During the regime…

a)Repression:

*People were imprisoned for their beliefs

*Others went into exile to France or Latin America

*The regime restricted the media, trade unions and protests.

 

b) Economy:

*People migrated from rural areas to the big cities

*People left Spain to look for work in other European countries.

*Autarchy:  Franco’s policy of economic self-sufficiency.

*The United Nations (UN), prohibited other countries from trading with Spain because of the dictatorship.

*Food was scarce and people had ration books

 

c)Beliefs:

*Catholicism became the official religion of the state

*The state gave the Church privileges.

 

d)Education

*Boys and girls had separate classes and learnt different things.

 

e) Culture

*Many regional traditions and languages were repressed.

 

 

2. Changing times…

IN THE 1950

Spain was almost bankrupt because of international isolation and autarchy.

 

Franco wanted the international community to accept Spain so he made some economic changes and became more liberal.

 

Spain allowed the USA to have military bases on the Peninsula and in return, the USA gave Spain financial aid (money)

 

Spain joined the United Nations in 1955

 

IN THE 1960

*ECONOMIC CHANGES

-Foreign tourism increased and brought in foreign currency

-Emigrants send money home and boosted the Spanish economy.

-The regime created industrial zones in Basque Country and Cataluña. We manufactured more goods and the economy improved.

 

*SOCIAL CHANGES

The regime reduced its control of the press. Protests and strikes were allowed.

 

3. End of the regime

The Law of Succession in 1969 allowed Franco to name a successor and he chose Juan Carlos of Bourbon to continue the dictatorship.

 

 

6.    The transition to democracy

In November 1975 Franco died. Juan Carlos I became king and head of state. He didn´t continue with the dictatorship and he began de process of making Spain a constitutional monarchy.

DATE	IMPORTANT PEOPLE	MAIN EVENTS
1975	Juan Carlos I	-He became king.   -He announced that Spain would become a democracy.   -Beginning of the Transition
1976	Adolfo Suarez	-The king named him as Prime Minister   - He made changes such as: *release of political prisoners *dissolution of secret police *made strikes and trade unions legal *make all political parties legal
1977	Adolfo Suarez (UCD)	-The government called democratic elections thanks to the electoral law.   -The political party UCD (Unión Centro Democrático) won the elections.   -Adolfo Suarez became the elected Prime Minister.
1978	Parliament Spanish people	The Constitution of 1978 was approved by: -Parliament -Spanish people in a referendum
1981	Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo   Colonel Tejero   Juan Carlos I	Lepoldo Calvo-Sotelo had been elected as the Spanish Prime Minister   Colonel Tejero attempted a coup on the 23rd of February 1891.   Juan Carlos I supported the Constitution.   The coup failed and Spain remained a democracy
1982-1996	Felipe González (PSOE)	In 1982 PSOE won the elections. Felipe Gonzalez was the Prime Minister all those years.   Spain became a member of the EU (European Union) in 1986   In 1992 Spain hosted:   -the Expo 92 in Sevilla   -the Barcelona Olympics
1996-2004	Jose María Aznar (PP)	The PP won the elections. Jose María Aznar was the Prime Minister all those years.   The economy became stronger thanks to the construction boom.   Spain adopted the euro in  2002
2004-2011	Luis Rodriguez Zapatero (PSOE)	The PSOE won the elections and the Prime Minister was Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.   Spain was affected by a global economic crisis in 2008   In 2011 the terrorist group ETA declared permanent ceasefire.
2011-2018	Mariano Rajoy (PP)	The PP won the elections and the Prime Minister was Mariano Rajoy.   The economic crisis continued to affect Spain.   There were some cases of corruption in Rajoy’s government   Juan Carlos I abdicated in 2014 in favour of his son Felipe VI.
2018-PRESENT DAY	Pedro Sánchez (PSOE)	In 2018, Pedro Sanchez (PSOE) became the Prime Minister