In July 1936 Gen. Francisco Franco, commander of the Spanish troops in North Africa, led an uprising against the democratically elected government of the Spanish Republic. This Popular Front coalition of antifascists, socialists, and communists was widely supported by liberals and leftists both in Spain and worldwide. Franco was backed by the conservative elements of Spanish society, including most of the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. He was also aided by Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, both of which quickly sent troops and weapons. A few months later the Soviet Union entered the conflict on the side of the Republic but provided less military aid than Italy and Germany were giving Franco.
Great Britain then began a campaign to keep the rest of the major powers out of the civil war in Spain. Despite a mutual-aid agreement between France and Spain, Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden of Great Britain persuaded the French.....
This is a free excerpt of 150 words. This section contains 709 words.
America 1930-1939: Government and Politics article
Read the rest of this article.
This article contains 26,311 words
(approx. 88 pages at 300 words per page).
Order our 1930s Article
