Contemporary age
- 2. The reign of Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII was the last king of the Restoration era. He was the son of Alfonso XII and was proclaimed king in 1902. During his reign, there were serious social and political conflicts in Spain. The20th Century The dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera Taking advantage of the social and political conflict, General Primo de Rivera led a coup in 1923. Primo de Rivera established a military dictatorship. He assumed all powers of state, abolished the Constitution, banned all political parties and labour unions, and limited freedom for citizens. King Alfonso XIII supported the dictatorship, but he was not part of the government. The population opposed his regime and demanded more freedom. General elections were held in 1931. The political parties that supported a republic won, so Alfonso XIII went into exile. To lead a coup: dirigir un golpe de Estado To ban: prohibir
- 3. Many schools were built all over the country to promote education. The20th Century The Second Spanish Republic In 1931, the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed and Alcalá Zamora was appointed president of the Republic. The government of the Republic implemented many reforms, including: ● land ● education reforms ● labour However, these reforms were not accepted by everyone, and violent conflicts escalated.
- 5. The20th Century In 1936, General Francisco Franco led a coup against the government of the Republic. This started the Spanish Civil War, which lasted until 1939. During the war, the Spanish population was divided into The Spanish Civil War Republican area People who supported the Republic Nationalist area People who supported General Franco
- 6. The dictatorship of Francisco Franco After the war, General Franco took power and established a dictatorship that lasted more than 30 years. This period, from 1939 to 1975, is known as Francoism. As a result of establishing a dictatorship: ● The Constitution was abolished and new laws restricted individual freedom. ● All power was concentrated in one person. Franco was head of state and government and commander in chief of the military. ● Political parties and labour unions were banned. ● The Statutes of Autonomy were revoked. Spanish was imposed as the official language. ● Censorship was put into place. Books, films and plays and anything against the ideas of the dictatorship were banned. The20th Century The changes in Franco’s dictatorship From the 1950s, Spain started to become accepted internationally in 1955, and became a member of the United Nations (UN). From 1960, the economy started to improve: industrial production increased and agriculture was modernized with new machinery. Tourism became one of the main economic activities.
- 7. Between 1970 and 1975, opposition to the Franco regime grew. Students participated in demonstrations for a democratic form of government. On 20th November 1975, General Franco died and the dictatorship ended. It was the beginning of a new era. The20th Century The end of Franco’s dictatorship
- 8. Nowit’syourturn! 1. What forms of government did Spain have between 1902 and 1939? 2. Draw a chart comparing the dictatorships of Primo de Rivera and Franco.
- 9. Transitionanddemocracy The transition was the period of political changes that were made to move from the dictatorship of General Franco towards democracy.
- 10. JuancarlosI,Kingofspain After the death of General Franco, Juan Carlos I, grandson of Alfonso XIII, was crowned King of Spain. In 1976, the king appointed Adolfo Suárez as president. A series of reforms were adopted so that Spain could one again become a democratic country: Elections took place in 1977 and the Central Democratic Union (UCD) was elected, the party led by Adolfo Suárez. ● Political parties and labour unions were legalized. ● Political prisoners were released. ● People in exile returned to Spain. ● The first democratic elections since 1936 were held. Adolfo Suárez was the president of Spain from 1977 to 1981, after a really difficult period of hard dictatorship.
- 11. Theconstitutionof1978 After the 1977 elections, representatives of the major political parties wrote a constitution which was approved by Parliament. In 1978, Spaniards vote in favour of the Constitution in a referendum. The Constitution of 1978 establishes that Spain is a democratic country, whose national sovereignty resides in the Spanish people, with a parliamentary monarchy as a form of government. It also guarantees citizen rights such as: ● Equality under the law. ● Freedom of expression. ● The right to vote for all citizens over eighteen years of age. The Constitution also recognizes the organization of the Spanish territory in autonomous communities. Since 1995, Spain has been organized into seventeen autonomous communities and two autonomous cities, Ceuta and Melilla.
- 13. Spain joins the EU In 1962, General Franco requested that Spain join the European Economic Community (EEC). At that time, Spain was a dictatorship, and one of the conditions of the EEC was for its members to be democratic countries. As a result, the request was denied. Later, in 1977, Adolfo Suárez repeated the request. It was granted this time, since Spain was in the transition to a democratic government. Negotiations for joining the EEC lasted almost ten years. Finally, in 1986, Spain became a member of the EEC, currently known as the EU (European Union). TheEuropeanUnion Spain, member of the EU Since 1986, Spain has experienced major economic, social and political transformations. Spain has benefitted from European funds. This money contributed to the development of less prosperous areas by improving infrastructures. Some examples are motorways, railways and airports. In addition, Spanish people were allowed to move to other member states to work or study. However, joining the EU also required sacrifices. Spain had to adopt strict economic measures. It was necessary to adapt the Spanish economy to the common European market. Europe imposed limitations on the production of vegetables, milk, olives and grapes.
- 14. Nowit’syourturn! 1. Which are the citizen rights the Constitution guarantees? 2. When did Spain try to join the EEC for the first time? Explain what happened. 3. When did Spain finally join the EEC ? Who was the president of Spain at that time?
- 16. Society Under the dictatorship Divorce was not permitted Most women did not study or work. Married women could not work, own property or even travel without their husband’s permission For many years, Spain has little contact with other countries. However, in the 1960s many tourists started to come to Spain Since the dictatorship Divorce is legal Many women study at university and work. They can own property, and can be totally independent Spain is open to the world. Many emigrants returned to Spain after the dictatorship, and today there are inmigrants from many parts of the world There have been many profound changes in Spanish society since the end of the dictatorship.
- 17. GeneraciónDel98 Una generación literaria es un grupo de escritores que, nacidos en fechas cercanas y movidos por un acontecimiento de su época, se enfrentan a los mismos problemas y reaccionan de modo semejante ante ellos. ✖ Sus principales componentes son: Miguel de Unamuno, Valle- Inclán, Pío Baroja, Azorín y Antonio Machado. ✖ Todos nacen entre 1864 y 1875. ✖ El acontecimiento histórico que los mueve es la decadencia española y el desastre de 1898. ✖ La imagen lamentable que presenta España, que ha caído en la apatía y el desinterés. ✖ Analizan los males de España e intentan proponer soluciones.
- 18. Culture Literature Poets such as Federico García Lorca, Rafael Alberti and Jorge Guillén formed part of the “Generation of 27”. This was a group of poets who experimented with new forms of art and poetry. Later, the writers Vicente Aleixandre and Camilo José Cela both won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Cinema The film director Luis Buñuel became famous worldwide. The directors José Luis Garci, Fernando Trueba and Pedro Almodóvar have won Oscars. Architecture The architect Antoni Gaudí designed many outstanding and original buildings, such as the cathedral of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. Painting and sculpture Pablo Picasso was one of the most influential artists in the world. Together with Juan Gris, he was one of the founders of the artistic style Cubism. Joan Miro and Salvador Dalí were also great painters and sculptors, who were best known for their surrealist works. Spaniards produced many great works in every field of culture in the 20th century.
- 19. Antonio Gaudí Obras Basílica Expiatoria Sagrada Familia
- 21. Nowit’syourturn! 1. Make a diagram about the social differences during and after the dictatorship. 2. Write three examples of poets of both generations: 98 and 27. 3. Who built the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona? And who was the most important representative of the Cubism style?