Ashort review about Contemporary Age in Spain, theCivil War and the Second Spanish Republic.

1. ContemporaryAge
(20th and21stcenturies)
CEIPAlmirante Laulhé
Curso2017-18

2. The reign of Alfonso XIII
Alfonso XIII was the last king of the
Restoration era. He was the son of
Alfonso XII and was proclaimed
king in 1902.
During his reign, there were serious
social and political conflicts in
Spain.
The20th Century
The dictatorship of Miguel
Primo de Rivera
Taking advantage of the social and
political conflict, General Primo de
Rivera led a coup in 1923.
Primo de Rivera established a
military dictatorship. He assumed
all powers of state, abolished the
Constitution, banned all political
parties and labour unions, and
limited freedom for citizens. King
Alfonso XIII supported the
dictatorship, but he was not part of
the government.
The population opposed his regime
and demanded more freedom.
General elections were held in 1931.
The political parties that supported a
republic won, so Alfonso XIII went
into exile.
To lead a coup: dirigir un golpe de Estado
To ban: prohibir

3. Many schools were built all over the country to
promote education.
The20th Century
The Second Spanish Republic
In 1931, the Second Spanish Republic was
proclaimed and Alcalá Zamora was
appointed president of the Republic.
The government of the Republic
implemented many reforms, including:
● land
● education reforms
● labour
However, these reforms were not
accepted by everyone, and violent
conflicts escalated.

4. TheCivilWar
and the dictatorship

5. The20th Century
In 1936, General Francisco Franco led a coup against the
government of the Republic. This started the Spanish Civil
War, which lasted until 1939.
During the war, the Spanish population was divided into
The Spanish Civil War
Republican
area
People who
supported the
Republic
Nationalist
area
People who
supported
General Franco

6. The dictatorship of Francisco
Franco
After the war, General Franco took power
and established a dictatorship that lasted
more than 30 years. This period, from 1939
to 1975, is known as Francoism.
As a result of establishing a dictatorship:
● The Constitution was abolished and
new laws restricted individual freedom.
● All power was concentrated in one
person. Franco was head of state and
government and commander in chief of
the military.
● Political parties and labour unions were
banned.
● The Statutes of Autonomy were
revoked. Spanish was imposed as the
official language.
● Censorship was put into place. Books,
films and plays and anything against
the ideas of the dictatorship were
banned.
The20th Century
The changes in Franco’s
dictatorship
From the 1950s, Spain started to become
accepted internationally in 1955, and
became a member of the United Nations
(UN).
From 1960, the economy started to
improve: industrial production increased
and agriculture was modernized with new
machinery. Tourism became one of the
main economic activities.

7. Between 1970 and 1975, opposition to
the Franco regime grew. Students
participated in demonstrations for a
democratic form of government.
On 20th November 1975, General Franco
died and the dictatorship ended. It was
the beginning of a new era.
The20th Century
The end of Franco’s dictatorship

8. Nowit’syourturn!
1. What forms of government did Spain have between 1902
and 1939?
2. Draw a chart comparing the dictatorships of Primo de
Rivera and Franco.

9. Transitionanddemocracy
The transition was the period of political
changes that were made to move from the
dictatorship of General Franco towards
democracy.

10. JuancarlosI,Kingofspain
After the death of General Franco, Juan
Carlos I, grandson of Alfonso XIII, was
crowned King of Spain.
In 1976, the king appointed Adolfo
Suárez as president. A series of reforms
were adopted so that Spain could one
again become a democratic country:
Elections took place in 1977 and the
Central Democratic Union (UCD) was
elected, the party led by Adolfo Suárez.
● Political parties and labour unions
were legalized.
● Political prisoners were released.
● People in exile returned to Spain.
● The first democratic elections since
1936 were held.
Adolfo Suárez was the president of Spain from
1977 to 1981, after a really difficult period of hard
dictatorship.

11. Theconstitutionof1978
After the 1977 elections, representatives
of the major political parties wrote a
constitution which was approved by
Parliament.
In 1978, Spaniards vote in favour of the
Constitution in a referendum.
The Constitution of 1978 establishes that
Spain is a democratic country, whose
national sovereignty resides in the
Spanish people, with a parliamentary
monarchy as a form of government.
It also guarantees citizen rights such as:
● Equality under the law.
● Freedom of expression.
● The right to vote for all citizens
over eighteen years of age.
The Constitution also recognizes the
organization of the Spanish territory in
autonomous communities.
Since 1995, Spain has been organized
into seventeen autonomous communities
and two autonomous cities, Ceuta and
Melilla.

12. SpainintheEuropeanUnion

13. Spain joins the EU
In 1962, General Franco requested that
Spain join the European Economic
Community (EEC).
At that time, Spain was a dictatorship, and
one of the conditions of the EEC was for its
members to be democratic countries. As a
result, the request was denied.
Later, in 1977, Adolfo Suárez repeated the
request. It was granted this time, since
Spain was in the transition to a democratic
government.
Negotiations for joining the EEC lasted
almost ten years. Finally, in 1986, Spain
became a member of the EEC, currently
known as the EU (European Union).
TheEuropeanUnion
Spain, member of the EU
Since 1986, Spain has experienced major
economic, social and political
transformations.
Spain has benefitted from European funds.
This money contributed to the
development of less prosperous areas by
improving infrastructures. Some examples
are motorways, railways and airports.
In addition, Spanish people were allowed
to move to other member states to work
or study.
However, joining the EU also required
sacrifices. Spain had to adopt strict
economic measures. It was necessary to
adapt the Spanish economy to the
common European market. Europe
imposed limitations on the production of
vegetables, milk, olives and grapes.

14. Nowit’syourturn!
1. Which are the citizen rights the Constitution guarantees?
2. When did Spain try to join the EEC for the first time?
Explain what happened.
3. When did Spain finally join the EEC ? Who was the
president of Spain at that time?

15. SocietyandCulture

16. Society
Under the
dictatorship
Divorce was not
permitted
Most women did
not study or work.
Married women
could not work,
own property or
even travel
without their
husband’s
permission
For many years,
Spain has little
contact with other
countries.
However, in the
1960s many
tourists started to
come to Spain
Since the
dictatorship
Divorce is legal
Many women
study at university
and work. They
can own property,
and can be totally
independent
Spain is open to
the world. Many
emigrants
returned to Spain
after the
dictatorship, and
today there are
inmigrants from
many parts of the
world
There have been many profound changes in Spanish society since
the end of the dictatorship.

17. GeneraciónDel98
Una generación literaria es un grupo de escritores que, nacidos en fechas cercanas y
movidos por un acontecimiento de su época, se enfrentan a los mismos problemas y
reaccionan de modo semejante ante ellos.
✖ Sus principales componentes son: Miguel de Unamuno, Valle-
Inclán, Pío Baroja, Azorín y Antonio Machado.
✖ Todos nacen entre 1864 y 1875.
✖ El acontecimiento histórico que los mueve es la decadencia
española y el desastre de 1898.
✖ La imagen lamentable que presenta España, que ha caído en la
apatía y el desinterés.
✖ Analizan los males de España e intentan proponer soluciones.

18. Culture
Literature
Poets such as Federico García
Lorca, Rafael Alberti and
Jorge Guillén formed part of
the “Generation of 27”. This
was a group of poets who
experimented with new
forms of art and poetry.
Later, the writers Vicente
Aleixandre and Camilo José
Cela both won the Nobel
Prize for Literature.
Cinema
The film director Luis
Buñuel became famous
worldwide. The directors
José Luis Garci, Fernando
Trueba and Pedro
Almodóvar have won Oscars.
Architecture
The architect Antoni Gaudí
designed many outstanding
and original buildings, such
as the cathedral of the
Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.
Painting and sculpture
Pablo Picasso was one of the
most influential artists in the
world. Together with Juan
Gris, he was one of the
founders of the artistic style
Cubism. Joan Miro and
Salvador Dalí were also great
painters and sculptors, who
were best known for their
surrealist works.
Spaniards produced many great works in every field of culture
in the 20th century.

19. Antonio Gaudí
Obras
Basílica Expiatoria
Sagrada Familia

20. Salvador DalíPablo Picasso

21. Nowit’syourturn!
1. Make a diagram about the social differences during and
after the dictatorship.
2. Write three examples of poets of both generations: 98 and 27.
3. Who built the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona? And who
was the most important representative of the Cubism style?