The Moroccan Issue and Primo de Rivera’s Dictatorship
The Problem of Morocco
In July 1921, during a campaign aimed at extending Spanish control around Melilla, the Spanish suffered a major defeat at Annual. The Spanish Rif attacked, resulting in widespread losses throughout the occupied territory. The conflict’s unpopularity led the media to blame the government and the army. The army withdrew from the political class. The report made by General Picasso (file name unknown) caused great debates in the courts and was opposed by the army. Republicans demanded
Read MoreSpain’s Transition to Democracy & Autonomy
Political Reform in Spain
Political Reform: A segment of Franco’s successors, known as the “immobile,” resisted change, resorting to police repression or the actions of paramilitary groups. However, the “reformers” pushed for a transition within the existing legal framework. On June 30, 1976, Arias Navarro was compelled to resign. Adolfo Suarez, who aligned with the Crown’s objectives, replaced him. Suarez initiated a new political approach, establishing contacts with the opposition. He also introduced
Read MoreUnderstanding Fascism: Ideology and Social Roots
Ideology and Social Bases of Fascism
Fascism had well-defined characteristics:
- It guarded the totalitarian state, establishing control over all areas of life. It advocated for the primacy of the state over the individual and the denial of liberal principles, such as equality of citizens, individual rights, and the separation of powers.
- It supported a single, dictatorial political party. It was sustained by the leadership principle, entrusted to a chief endowed with charismatic power. Fascism was seated
US Civil War & European Liberalism: 19th Century
The Problem of Slavery and the US Civil War
The Problem of Slavery and the Civil War: The Constitution of the United States left the issue of slavery to each individual state. The states of the North and West had abolished slavery, while the South maintained it because it was the foundation of their cotton and tobacco plantations. The conflict between abolitionist and slave states intensified in the mid-19th century. In 1860, Abraham Lincoln, who opposed the expansion of slavery into new territories,
Read MoreKey Events: French Revolution to Spanish Restoration
Key Historical Events: French Revolution to Spanish Restoration
Inventors included mechanical planter Mac Cornick, Jethro Tull (inventor of the seed drill), and some years later, the threshing machine. James Watt invented the steam engine, Robert Stephenson the locomotive in 1769, and Robert Fulton the steamboat. Abraham Darby was the first to cast iron with coke, and Henry Cort discovered and developed the processes of puddling and rolling iron.
The Phases of the French Revolution
- The Constituent
Democracy, Fascism, and the Road to World War II
The Triumph of Democracies After World War I
The Allied victory in World War I was seen as a triumph for parliamentary democracy. The authoritarian empires that collapsed were replaced by republics adopting Western democratic principles.
The Decline of Democracy in the 1920s
However, by 1922, democracy suffered a sharp slowdown in Central and Eastern Europe, and the Mediterranean region. Fascism rose in Italy, and crises occurred in Turkey, Poland, Bulgaria, Spain, and Portugal.