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Summary
- Early Life
- 1936 Election
- Franco during the Spanish Civil War
- Spain under Franco’s Leadership
- Death
Key Facts And Information
Let’s know more about Francisco Franco!
Francisco Franco Bahamonde was a Spanish military general who commanded the Nationalist troops in the overthrow of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and, after that, governed Spain as a dictator from 1939 until 1975, adopting the title Caudillo. The era in Spanish history, from the Nationalist victory to Franco’s demise, is referred to as Francoist Spain or the Francoist dictatorship. Franco’s Spanish nationalism fostered a singular national identity by suppressing Spain’s cultural variety. Bullfighting and flamenco were elevated as national traditions, whereas non-Spanish customs were repressed.
Francisco Franco
EARLY LIFE OF FRANCISCO FRANCO
- Francisco Franco Bahamonde was born on 4 December 1892 in the Calle Frutos Saavedra in Ferrol, Galicia. He was baptised 13 days later at the military church of San Francisco, with the baptismal name Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo. His parents were Nicolás Franco Salgado-Araújo, a naval officer, and María del Pilar Bahamonde y Pardo de Andrade, who was from an upper-middle-class Roman Catholic family.
- Until the age of 12, Franco attended a private school run by a Catholic priest. He subsequently enrolled in a navy high school to follow in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps into a sea-based military career. However, the cash-strapped Spanish government temporarily banned cadet admittance to the Naval Academy in 1907.
- At 14 years old, Franco was among the youngest in his class, while most of his peers were between 16 and 18. He graduated in July 1910 as a second lieutenant, ranking 251st out of 312 cadets in his class. However, this may have been influenced more by his diminutive stature and youth than by his academic performance.
- Franco attained the rank of first lieutenant in June 1912 at 19. Two years later, he received a commission to Morocco. The Spanish endeavour to control the newly established African protectorate incited the Second Melillan campaign in 1909 against Indigenous Moroccans, marking the initial instance of multiple Riffian uprisings.
- In 1913, Franco joined the newly established regulares: Moroccan colonial forces commanded by Spanish commanders, serving as elite shock troops. In 1916, at the age of 23 and holding the rank of captain, Franco sustained an abdominal gunshot wound from guerilla fire during an attack against Moroccan strongholds at El Biutz, located in the hills outside Ceuta. This incident was his sole injury in a decade of combat.
- Consequently, he was elevated to principal after February 1917, at the age of 24. This rendered him the youngest major in the Spanish army. He served in Spain from 1917 until 1920.
- On 22 October 1923, Franco wed María del Carmen Polo y Martínez-Valdès. Franco commanded the initial contingent of soldiers landing at Al Hoceima in 1925. Franco was ultimately acknowledged for his leadership and was elevated to brigadier general on 3 February 1926. Franco, at the age of 33, became Europe’s youngest general. He was appointed to lead the newly established General Military Academy in Zaragoza.
- In 1928, Franco was designated as the director of the newly established General Military Academy of Zaragoza, which served as a unified institution for all Spanish army cadets, superseding the previous distinct academies for aspiring officers in infantry, cavalry, artillery and other military branches. Franco was dismissed from his position as Director of the Zaragoza Military Academy in 1931. During the onset of the Civil War, the colonels, majors and captains of the Spanish Army who had studied under him showed unwavering allegiance to him as Caudillo.
1936 ELECTION
- In late 1935, Spain’s President Niceto Alcalá-Zamora transformed a minor corruption issue into a significant parliamentary scandal, removing Alejandro Lerroux, leader of the Radical Republican Party, from the premiership. Subsequently, Alcalá-Zamora rejected the rational alternative, a predominant centre-right coalition led by the Confederación Español de Derechas Autónomas (CEDA), which would accurately represent the parliamentary composition.
- After a brief interval, Alcalá-Zamora arbitrarily nominated an interim prime minister and declared the dissolution of parliament and the necessity for new elections.
- On 16 February 1936, the elections concluded in a near tie. However, in the evening, communist mobs began to disrupt the balloting and vote registration, skewing the outcomes.
- On 19 February 1936, the cabinet led by Portela Valladares resigned, and a new cabinet was promptly established, primarily consisting of members from the Republican Left and the Republican Union, under the leadership of Manuel Azaña.
- The propagation of the lie regarding a purported Communist coup d’état and a supposed condition of social chaos served as pretexts for a coup. Franco and General Emilio Mola y Vidal initiated an anti-Communist campaign in Morocco. On 23 February 1936, Franco was dispatched to the Canary Islands to assume the role of military commander, an assignment he regarded as a form of banishment. Concurrently, a conspiracy orchestrated by General Mola was emerging.
- Seeking the parliamentary immunity conferred by a position in the Cortes, Franco aimed to run as a candidate for the Right Bloc alongside José Antonio Primo de Rivera in the by-election scheduled for 3 May 1936, following the annulment of the February 1936 election results in the constituency.
- However, Primo de Rivera declined to collaborate with a military leader, specifically Franco, who withdrew on 26 April, one day before the election authority’s decision. In June 1936, Franco was approached, and a clandestine gathering convened in La Esperanza woodland on Tenerife to deliberate the initiation of a military coup.
- Externally, Franco exhibited an equivocal demeanour until practically July. On 23 June 1936, he corresponded with the government leader, Casares Quiroga, proposing to suppress the unrest inside the Spanish Republican Army, but received no response. The situation became irreversible, and as Mola conveyed to Franco, the coup was inevitable, necessitating a choice of allegiance.
- He aligned with the rebels and was responsible for leading the Army of Africa. On 17 July, one day ahead of schedule, the Army of Africa revolted, apprehending their commanders. On 18 July, Franco issued a manifesto and departed for Africa, arriving the following day to assume leadership.
- A week later, the rebels, who subsequently designated themselves as the Nationalists, governed one-third of Spain. Most naval units remained in the hands of the Republican loyalist forces, so isolating Franco. The coup failed to achieve a rapid triumph. Nonetheless, the Spanish Civil War commenced.
FRANCISCO FRANCO DURING THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR
- Franco, who had been exiled to the Canary Islands, was initially hesitant to assist the military conspiracy. He became dedicated, however, after the death of radical monarchist José Calvo Sotelo. On 18 July 1936, military officers launched a multipronged insurrection that gave them control of the majority of the country’s western half. Franco’s mission was to travel to Morocco and start bringing troops to the mainland.
José Calvo Sotelo
- Franco was named chairman of the revolutionary Nationalist government and commander-in-chief (generalissimo) of the armed forces within a few months. He consolidated support by gaining the Catholic Church’s help, merging the fascist and monarchist political groups, and dissolving all other political parties.
- Meanwhile, on their way north, his forces, which included fascist militia organisations, machine-gunned hundreds of Republicans in Badajoz. Later in the conflict, Nationalists would execute tens of thousands more political detainees.
- Despite help from the Soviet Union and International Brigades, the internally split Republicans, who assassinated their fair share of political opponents, could not halt the steady Nationalist advance. In 1937, German and Italian bombardments aided the Nationalists’ conquest of Basque regions and Asturias. Barcelona, the epicentre of Republican resistance, collapsed in January 1939 and Madrid surrendered the following March, bringing the war to a conclusion.
SPAIN UNDER FRANCISCO FRANCO’S LEADERSHIP
- Following the Civil War, many Republican figures departed the nation, and military courts were established to judge those who remained. Thousands more Spaniards were executed due to these tribunals, and Franco himself revealed in the mid-1940s that he kept 26,000 political prisoners under lock and key. The Franco regime also made Catholicism the only tolerated religion, prohibited the use of Catalan and Basque outside the home, banned the use of Catalan and Basque names for newborns, prohibited labour unions, promoted economic self-sufficiency policies, and established a vast secret police network to spy on citizens.
- Despite sympathising with the Axis powers, Franco remained mainly absent from the Second World War, but he did send over 50,000 volunteers to fight alongside the Germans on the Soviet front. Franco also exposed his ports to German submarines and invaded Tangier, Morocco’s internationally governed city.
- Spain endured diplomatic and economic isolation following the war, but as the Cold War heated up, this began to thaw. In exchange for military and financial assistance, Spain permitted the United States (US) to build three air bases and a navy base on its soil in 1953.
- Franco ignored daily political concerns as he aged, preferring to hunt and fish instead. Simultaneously, police controls and press censorship loosened, strikes and protests grew more prevalent, specific free-market reforms were implemented, tourism rose, and Morocco attained independence.
Political Aspect
- The military insurrection received widespread backing both within Spain and beyond. In Spain, the Francoists were mainly supported by the conservative upper class, liberal professionals, religious organisations, and landowners. It was primarily based in rural areas where progressive political movements had made few inroads.
- Politically, Francoist brought together various parties and organisations, some of which advocated opposing ideologies, such as the conservative CEDA and Alejandro Lerroux’s radicals and Falangists, Catholics, and pro-Monarchic movements like the Agraristas and Carlistas (Requetés).
Falange
- The Falange Española was created by Primo de Rivera as a fascist political organisation in Spain. The Falange was founded with the help of Alfonsist monarchist funding. When it was founded, the Falange was officially anti-clerical and anti-monarchist.
- The upper classes were reassured by landowner and nobleman Primo de Rivera that Spanish fascism would not spiral out of control like its equivalents in Germany and Italy.
- Initially, the Falange was a slight student-based movement that preached a utopian violent nationalist revolution.
- Falangist terror squads attempted to cause chaos to legitimise the implementation of an authoritarian rule.
- As middle-class discontent with the CEDA’s legalism grew, so did support for the Falange. By September 1936, the total number of Falangist volunteers had reached 35,000, accounting for 55% of the Nationals’ civilian forces. Following the death of Primo de Rivera, Manuel Hedilla attempted to seize control of the Falange. Still, he was usurped by Franco, who tried to take control of the movement as part of his move to seize control of the National party.
- Falangists were outraged by the decision initially, seeing their ideological position stolen by the Catholic Church and their revolution postponed indefinitely. After unification and Franco’s seizure of leadership, Franco distanced the party from fascism, declaring, ‘The Falange does not consider itself fascist; its founder said so personally.’
- Following this announcement, the National faction’s practice of referring to the Falange as ‘fascists’ vanished by 1937, but Franco did not deny the existence of fascists within the Falange. Franco announced that the Falange’s goal was to include the ‘vast neutral mass of the unaffiliated’ and vowed that no ideological rigidity would be permitted to get in the way of that goal.
- Under Franco’s leadership, the Falange abandoned Primo de Rivera’s past anticlerical tendencies in favour of neo-traditionalist National Catholicism, but it continued to oppose Catholic pacifism.
- Franco’s Falange likewise left its anti-capitalist stance, with Falange member Raimundo Fernández-Cuesta claiming that the Falange’s national syndicalism was utterly compatible with capitalism.
Role of Church and Cult of Personality
- Church and state had a close and mutually beneficial relationship in the early years of the Franco administration. The Roman Catholic Church’s support of the Francoist state gave legitimacy to the dictatorship, which restored and strengthened the Church’s traditional rights.
- Franco’s political system was nearly the polar opposite of the republican era’s final government, the Popular Front.
- Under the leadership of Franco, Roman Catholicism was the only legal religion. Other religious services could not be marketed, and only the Roman Catholic Church could own property or publish literature.
- The government not only supported priests’ salaries and subsidised the Church, but it also aided in the repair of war-damaged church buildings. Divorce was outlawed, and the selling of contraception was prohibited. Even in public schools, Catholic religious teaching was required. In exchange, Franco obtained the ability to choose Roman Catholic bishops in Spain and veto power over clergy appointments down to the parish priest level.
- In 1953, a new Concordat with the Vatican confirmed the Catholic Church’s strong cooperation with the Franco regime, granting the Church special privileges. By the 1960s, anti-clericalism had completely vanished in the region, and the Catholic Church had become a key component in the resurrection of Catalan nationalism and a platform for opposition to Francoism. Below are the privileges received by the church, as stipulated in the Concordat of 1953:
Education Policies
- In 1930s Spain, more than half of the population (including the vast majority of women) were illiterate. More than a million children did not attend school at all.
- The nearest school could be more than two hours’ walk away, and while many families thought it was worthwhile to make an effort for their children to acquire an education, not all were so driven.
- Furthermore, children were typically required to work in agriculture from an early age. Education, historically the domain of the Church, was viewed as one of the most critical missions, the foundation of all reforms to be implemented.
- Miguel Primo de Rivera, Spanish dictator and military officer who ruled as prime minister of Spain from 1923 to 1930 was enthusiastic about the republic’s educational goals, and he joined others in the community to assist with the construction of one of the new schools. Temporary schools were set up in any suitable site, commonly a room in the town hall, while they were being built. Teachers were rewarded for trips to people’s homes, including the most isolated farmsteads and cortijos. These itinerant teachers sometimes arrived on donkeys to ensure that education reached the entire community.
- All of these innovative educational measures were promptly revoked when Franco came to power.
- The Catholic Church regained control of education.
- Religious instruction in Catholic values and doctrine became mandatory in all schools, with the Church conducting inspections.
- Regional languages were forbidden and students were taught ‘patriotic principles’.
- Mixed courses were forbidden, and females’ education was designed to prepare them for their roles as brides and mothers.
- The bachillerato end-of-school exams were divided into two tracks, ensuring social disparity. This included the uniforms worn by youngsters of various classes.
Economic Development
- Spain emerged from the Civil War with significant economic issues. Gold and foreign exchange reserves had been nearly depleted, and the immense damage of war had decreased industry and agriculture’s productive ability.
- Spain was labelled an international outcast for its pro-Axis leaning during the Second World War, and was not invited to participate in the Marshall Plan, a US programme that provided foreign aid to Western Europe after the Second World War.
- Franco’s administration tried to ensure Spain’s well-being by pursuing an economic self-sufficiency programme. Autarky was not only a reaction to international isolation but also the result of more than a half-century of internal financial pressure group campaigning.
- Spain was far more economically backwards in the 1940s than it had been a decade earlier due to war devastation and commercial isolation.
- The Sindicato Vertical was founded in 1940 and was influenced by José Antonio Primo de Rivera, who believed that uniting workers and owners according to corporative principles would solve a class conflict. It was the only legal trade union and was run by the government. Other labour unions were prohibited and heavily repressed, as were political parties outside the Falange.
- The Francoist agricultural colonisation was one of the most ambitious initiatives associated with the regime’s agricultural policies, which responded to the republic’s Law of Agrarian Reform and wartime collectivisations. Francoist colonisation underpinned a materialisation of Fascist agrarian plans, partly influenced by the Falange Española de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista’s (FE de las JONS) brief points on agricultural policy.
DEATH
- On 19 July 1974, the ailing Franco succumbed to multiple health issues, prompting Juan Carlos to assume the role of acting head of state. Franco recuperated, and on 2 September 1974, he reinstated his responsibilities as head of state. A year later, he became unwell once more, suffering from other health issues, including a prolonged struggle with Parkinson’s disease. On 30 October 1975, he entered a coma and was placed on life support. Franco’s family consented to terminate the life-support system. He officially died from heart failure at the age of 82, a few minutes after midnight on 20 November 1975, coinciding with the death of Primo de Rivera in 1936.
- Upon the announcement of Franco’s death, the government instituted 30 days of official national mourning. Juan Carlos was officially proclaimed King of Spain on 22 November 1974. A public viewing of Franco’s body occurred at the chapel in the Royal Palace, accompanied by a requiem liturgy and a military parade on the day of his interment.
Frequently Asked Questions About Francisco Franco
- Who was Francisco Franco?Francisco Franco was a Spanish general and dictator who ruled Spain from 1939 to 1975.
- How did Francisco Franco come to power?Franco rose to power as the leader of the Nationalist faction during the Spanish Civil War. Following their victory over the Republican forces in 1939, Franco became the head of state and ruled Spain as a military dictator.
- How did Francisco Franco govern Spain?Franco ruled Spain as a dictator with absolute power. His regime suppressed political opposition, banned trade unions, imposed strict censorship, and promoted Catholicism as the state religion. Civil liberties were severely restricted