IB/Group 3/History/Route 2/Causes, Practices, and Effects of Wars/The Spanish Civil War (36-39)/Summary

Introduction
The Spanish Civil war is a suitable topic to study for 2020 IB History Guide and is a natural fit for the World history topic 11: Causes and effects of 20th century wars. ''The Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939 was a class war, and a culture war. Competing visions of Spanish identity were superimposed on a bitter struggle over material resources, as the defenders of property, religion and tradition took up arms against a Republican government committed to social reform, devolution, and secularisation.''

—Frances Lannon, The Spanish Civil War '' 'A civil war is not a war but a sickness,' wrote Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. 'The enemy is within. One fights almost against oneself.' Yet Spain's tragedy in 1936 was even greater. It had become enmeshed in the international civil war, which started in earnest with the Bolshevik revolution.''

—From Antony Beevor, The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936−1936, 2006 The Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936 after more than a century of social, economic and political division. Half a million people died in this conflict between 1936 and 1939.

The prescribed content is below (2020 Guide):

I. Causes of war

 * Economic, ideological, political, territorial and other causes
 * Short-term and long-term causes

II. Practices of war and their impact on the outcome

 * Types of war: civil wars; wars between states; guerrilla wars
 * Technological developments; air, naval and land warfare
 * The extent of the mobilization of human and economic resources
 * The influence and/or involvement of foreign powers

III. Effects of war

 * The successes and failures of peacemaking
 * Territorial changes
 * Political impact: short-term and long-term
 * Economic, social and demographic impact; changes in the role and status of women

Perspectives
Historiography: The historian Paul Preston argued that: ''‘... in 1931 when the Second Republic was established, no one, except a tiny minority on the lunatic fringe on the extreme right or left, believed that Spain’s problems could be solved only by war.’:''

Task: In pairs discuss Preston’s quote, here are some questions to help you:


 * 1) What is Preston's point in your own words?
 * 2) Does Preston imply long (before '31) or short term causes (after '31) were more to blame for the outbreak of war?
 * 3) What extent do you agree that the long term divisions in Spanish society did not make a civil war inevitable after 1931?