Franco’s Spain: Autarky, Repression, and Transition (1939-1975)
Widespread Corruption and Autarky in Francoist Spain
Social life during Franco’s regime was based on “recommendations,” requiring connections with bureaucrats to navigate the hardships of the era. The economic hardship was addressed through a model inspired by Mussolini’s Italy and Hitler’s Germany: autarky. This economic policy, based on economic self-sufficiency and state intervention, could work if a country were rich in resources. However, Spain lacked meat, grain, fuel, rubber, and industrial
Read MoreFeudalism and Christian Kingdoms in Medieval Europe
Feudalism: Concept and Features
Feudalism was a political, social, and economic system in Western Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries, with the following characteristics:
- Loss of political power by kings
- Social organization based on relationships of dependence (king-nobles-peasants)
- Agrarian economy
- Influence of the Christian religion
- Romanesque as a common artistic style
Origin and Expansion
Origin: Instability after the death of Charlemagne (9th century), due to struggles between his successors,
Read MoreVictorian Era: Politics, Economy, and the Irish Question
The Victorian Era: A Time of Transformation
Nationalism and Imperialism in 19th-Century Europe and Beyond
1. The Rise of Nationalism in Europe
1.1 France
In 1851, the President of the Republic, Louis Bonaparte, staged a coup, declared himself emperor under the name of Napoleon III, and established the Second Empire. The Bonapartist regime was a mixture of liberalism and order. Napoleon III intervened in every crisis between great powers:
- Participated in the Crimean War.
- He performed in Italy, first supporting Piedmont, but then preventing the completion of Italian unity.
- Tried to establish a French satellite
Alfonso XII’s Reign: The Canovas System and the 1876 Constitution
Reign of Alfonso XII: The Canovas System and the 1876 Constitution
1. The Restoration
After the coup of Pavia and the dissolution of the Republican Parliament in January 1874, a military regime was established under the presidency of General Serrano, without a specific program. During the Democratic Presidential term, reorganization had left the conservatives around the figure of Alfonso, the son of the dethroned Isabel II. The leader of this group, Antonio Canovas del Castillo, reached a consensus
Read MoreFerdinand VII’s Reign: Absolutism, Liberalism, and the Loss of Spanish America
**Ferdinand VII: Absolutism and Liberalism. The Emancipation of Spanish America**
By the Treaty of Valençay (1813), Napoleon accepted the return to Spain of Ferdinand VII and the gradual withdrawal of French troops from our country. Ferdinand VII (1814-1833) was contrary to liberalism. His main objective at the beginning of his reign was ending the work of the Cortes of Cadiz and restoring absolutism. Once in Spain, he had the support of the most conservative (nobility and clergy), who signed the
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