Catalonia, the Northeastern region of Spain, is engaged in a true and realistic conflict over gaining sovereignty and independence from Spain. This conflict, which is rooted in Catalonian nationalism, has been ongoing for years and has evolved significantly over time (Alexander, 2014). Since the conquering of Catalonia many centuries ago, the Catalonian people have worked resiliently to resist the loss of their language and culture by struggling against assimilating to the common cultures, laws, and language of its conqueror (Alexander, 2014). Throughout Spanish history, Catalonia has employed different methods in achieving their goal of independence from Spain. The manifestation of this conflict has taken the form of protests, laws, political parties, and certain acts of violence which indicates the severity of it, the passion of its participants, and provides concrete evidence that this conflict not only exists but is highly prevalent in Spanish history. The Catalonia and Spain conflict has manifested itself in several different forms throughout the twentieth century. To begin understanding the manifestation of the conflict, it is imperative to understand the scope in which the conflict branches from. While it is apparent that the conflict is generally between Catalonia and Spain, the scope in which this conflict reaches is spread within specific groups of the Catalonian and Spanish population. According to Bolloten and Esenwein (2015) the scope of the Catalonia and
According to Spain then and now, (2011), “In contrast to Spain’s startling growth of political power and prestige during the 16th century, the 17th century is commonly seen as one of decline.” Not merely historical hindsight, this view was already articulated in the early 17th century by a group of writers known as arbitristas. They lamented the deterioration of the country, and offered suggestions for both political and especially economic reform. Who recognised the stark contrast between the appearance of imperial greatness and the reality of social and economic problems in their country. Events of the 17th century confirm the foresight of the best of these early political economists. Since then there has been general consensus that Spain
Stanley Payne’s argument strongly rejects the notion that Franco’s Spain can be characterised as an embodiment of the traditional values that comprise fascism. Payne asserts that while Franco’s ‘political orientation was definitely pro-fascist’1, the nature of Francoist Spain never resembled anything that was analogous to Mussolini’s Italy, with Payne confidently stating that ‘scarcely any of the serious historians and analysts of Franco consider the Generalissimo to have been a core fascist’.2 The central premise of Payne’s argument is that Francoist ideology diverges from fascism at a fundamental level, which is made evident by Franco’s largely conservative philosophy and his refusal to pursue revolutionary policies that would radically change
While the book Unearthing Franco’s Legacy had a diverse field of intellectuals, Embodying Memory in Contemporary Spain dealt with Spanish memory and the subjectivity behind it. Alison Ribeiro de Menezes, a Hispanic studies and cultural memory expert in Spain and Portugal, purpose for this book was to “…explore ways in which Spain’s memory debates crystallize important elements of this new focus on memory as quite literally embodied rather than emplaced, and on the ways in which memory is today approached through imaginative and emotional investments in the past rather than cognitive rationalizations.” In Spain, memory and emotions was the key to the understanding of the public discourse. It would be impossible to have memory and rational objective analysis without the constant memorializing of one side over the other. Furthermore, she argued that, “The field of cultural memory teaches us that the past will …always be contested—frequently in a politicized manner—from the perspective of the present.” De Menezes understood that cultural memory, analyzed in the present, can be easily politicized
Write a report on the topic of your choice involving isolationism or United States involvement
To what extent was Mexico’s independence from Spain a “full-scale assault on dependency”? This essay will investigate how the Mexican independence from Spain was only slightly a “full-scale assault on dependency”, due to several political and social conflicts. Firstly, Mexico remained a monarchy (but not under the control of Spain) after the insurgency. Secondly, there was still an official state religion in Mexico. Another reason is because social conflicts reduced the desire for independence .On the other hand, it assaulted dependency because there were some changes within the social hierarchy, and because Mexico was free from Spain.
The Spanish Civil War is the name given to the struggle between loyalist and nationalist Spain for dominance in which the nationalists won and suppressed the country for the following thirty nine years. However, because of the larger political climate that the Spanish Civil War occurred in, it is impossible to view the war as a phenomenon contained within one nation. Despite its obvious domestic orientation as a civil war it was a major international conflict. The reason for this, I would maintain, is the political dogma which surrounded the war. This essay takes the form of a political survey of the
The Spanish civil war is often seen as a fundamental divide between right and left- the first major struggle between Fascism and Communism. The Spanish civil war started distinctly as a Spanish civil war born out of Spanish disputes, but it was soon to take on an international character. The military situations were practically equal to both sides before the foreign intervention. However, after Germany, Italy, and USSR intervened the situation changed dramatically.
The Spanish civil war of 1936-1939 was an important conflict in Spain’s history. This war was initiated by a military revolt led by General Francisco Franco on the 17 July 1936 and ended with Franco’s victory on the 1 April, 1939. This victory resulted in the replacement of the Second Spanish Republic with the conservative dictatorship of Franco. This conflict triggered the clash of the various cultures and ideologies within Spain. One important example of an ideological clash was that of Communism versus Fascism. This clash was so important that, based on an analysis of the level of involvement of Fascist and Communist factions in said clash, one must concede that the conflict between Communism and Fascism was represented to a great
The Spanish-American War was in 1898. It was an issue between the United States and Spain. The war began in the Cuban struggle for independence from Spain, which began in February 1895. Spain’s harsh measures to stop the rebellion were represented for the U.S. public by many newspapers, and American sympathy for the rebels rose. Spain announced an armistice on April 9 and speeded up its new program.
The evidence that supports the idea that the Nationalists won the Spanish Civil War because of their strength is abundant. The unity of the Nationalists was obvious and meant that there was both great organisation and co-ordination, meaning there was no ambiguity in the goals set by those fighting for the Nationalists. Franco’s plans for a long term war meant that he was able to ensure the defeat of the Republic by slowly squeezing the life out of the Republic war effort, which already was heavily reliant on Soviet aid, by securing Republican strong holds throughout Spain. The contrasting lack of unity on the Republic as well
Since the first humans picked up rocks and killed each other, war has grown and changed, going from a way to solve small disputes to a massive enterprise involving all of a country’s resources. One example of such a war would have to be the one between Spain and England in the 1500’s. What started as a mere religious conflict soon became much more, with the full naval might of the two countries facing off. It culminated in a huge battle between the massive Spanish Armada and the much smaller English fleet. With superior strategy, ships, and confidence, the English managed to not only fend off the Spanish but handily defeat them, preventing what could have been a huge invasion and disaster. Queen Elizabeth herself came to rally the troops, giving them the confidence to triumph over the Spanish (Kallen, 2013). It is apparent that this battle was a major battle and turning point in history. If the Spanish had won, history would be completely different. It is for this reason that is can be considered a major turning point in history.
There are a multitude of political systems around the world today. Regardless of similarities, each has its own unique qualities. This paper will discuss the differences and similarities of the political systems and government of both the United States of America and Spain. First, a short analysis of each countries history will be provided. This will give some background to the political, emotional and economical state of each country. This will lead to how the governments and political systems are now. Finally, there will be an analysis on the similarities and differences between both countries.
A group known as the Basques are a small, homogeneous people located in the Andorran mountains in northern Spain and southern France. This group is the only group in the world that speaks the language of Euskera. They have been isolated in the Andorran region for thousands of years and haven’t diffused to any other part of the world. However, scientists have found evidence that shows a link between Euskera and an extinct language in the Middle East. The separation of the Basque group started during the reign of the fascist dictator Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War because of his harsh policies against them. After Franco’s death in 1975, the Basques demanded self-government within Spain. The Basque group used violent techniques such
Throughout history, as we study Spain we can clearly recognize high and low points in their success. In the fifteen hundreds Spain had no influence on European affairs, Spain essentially vanished out of Europe. However, within one complete century Spain had become not only a leading power but they also had a great sense of effectiveness in Europe. Spain experienced a Golden age with many social, economic, political aspects. On the other hand, within
Primo de Rivera’s fate resumed in the landowners deserting him while he attempted to introduce arbitration committees for worker’s wages and conditions. On one hand, it can be argued that the unfairness and failure to address the diverse concerns of its people had caused the Spanish Political system to lose the elections of April 1931. On the other hand, the gains that liberals and socialists made in the 1931 elections had aided their popularity in Spain. The king was advised to abdicate by the military and Spain became a republic once again, over the short period of half a century. Preston argues that Spain’s social tensions had grown in the period between the two republics, yet nobody was anticipating a civil war in the April of 1931.