Spain, a Brief History

Description

(This work is based on the sixth French edition of Histoire de l'Espagne in the “Que sais-je” paperback edition of the Presses Universitaires de France (1965) and the Spanish Edition (1960). The metric measurements have not been converted. Metric ton = 0-984 British ton, 1-102 U.S.A. ton; the hectare = 2-471 acres. Although these measurements were introduced into Spain in 1859, several old weights and measures are still widely used. They are: the quintal = 220-4 lb avoirdupois; the libra = 1-014 lb avoirdupois; the arroba for wine = 3-5 imperial gal; the arroba for oil = 2:75 imperial gal; the fanega = 1-5 imperial bushels; the fanega de tierra = 1:59 acres; Translator’s note.) 1. The Physical Background and Early Civilisation 1 I. The Physical Background 1 II. Primitive Man and Early Civilisation 4 2. The Main Lines of the Past: the Middle Ages 7 I. Moslem Spain 7 1 Islam, advance and retreat 7 2 The balance sheet of Islamic influence 8 II. The Reconquest 9 1 The advance of the Reconquest 9 2 The heritage of the Reconquest 11 III. The End of the Middle Ages: Centrifugal and Centripetal Tendencies 16 1 Centrifugal tendencies in the fourteenth century 16 2 Centripetal tendencies in the fifteenth century 17 (a) The decadence of Catalonia 17 (6) The vitality and triumph of Castile 19 3. The Main Lines of the Past: Modern Times 23 I.” Political Structure 23 1 The strength and weaknesses of union 23 2 Religious unity; profit and loss 25 3 The modern state 28 4 Sovereignty abroad 29 II. Economic Expansion in the Colonies 31 III. The Spiritual Climax: the “Siglo de Oro” 41 IV. Imperial Decadence 44 4. The Main Characteristics of Contemporary Spain 48 I. The Eighteenth Century and Enlightened Despotism 48 1 Recovery in the eighteenth century; population and economy 48 2 The political recovery 50 3 The ideology of eighteenth-century Spain 4 The limits of change in the eighteenth century II. The Peninsular War 1 The uprising and its character 2 The failure of constructive effort III. The Nineteenth-century Labyrinth 1 Politics in the nineteenth century (1814-1917) (a) Ferdinand VII (1814-33) (b) The age of the pronunciamiento (1833-75) (c) The Restoration (1875-1917) 2 Political Life in nineteenth-century Spain (a) The monarchy (b) Constitutions and representative government (c) The pronunciamiento (d) Civil war and disturbances IV. The Basic Problems 1 Demography and economy 2 Agricultural problems (a) Technical and economic issues (b) Agrarian issues 3 Industrialisation and equipment (a) Mining production, general plant and heavy industry (b) Light industry 4 Political problems issuing from Spanish economic development (a) Foreign and colonial affairs (b) The regionalist problem (c) Social movements and workers’ organisations (d) Ideological issues 5. The Contemporary Crisis I. The Crisis of the Monarchy (1917-31) 1 First phase (1917-23). The Time of the Troubles (a) The crisis of 1917 (b) The Time of the Troubles (1917-23) 2 Second phase (1923-30). Dictatorship 3 Third phase (1930-31). The collapse of the monarchy II. The Republic (1931-36) 1 1931-33. Two years of reform (a) The political issues (b) Social problems (c) The opposition alliance and the failure of Azaña 2 1934-36. Two years of reaction (a) Political, social and regional issues (b) October 1934. Revolution in Catalonia and Asturias (c) October 1934 to February 1936 3 February to July 1936; from the elections to the pronunciamiento III. The Civil War (1936-39) 1 From the pronunciamiento to the Civil War 2 Military operations (a) The struggle for a united front (b) The battle for Madrid (c) Reduction of the isolated fronts (d) The struggle in Aragon (e) The fall of Catalonia and the end of the war 3 The nature of the war 4 The internal evolution of the two Spains (1936-39) (a) Political evolution (b) ‘‘Terrorist” repression (c) The problem of nationality (d) The problem of social change IV. The Regime of General Franco (1939-75)