The Spanish Civil War was born of a failed coup d’état, but this coup was not the result of an isolated accident. In the 1930s, Spain—like other contemporary European countries—faced serious political, cultural, social, and economic challenges. Broadly speaking, all of these challenges stemmed from the emergence of mass politics in Europe since the late 19th century, the development of capitalism—including the impact of the Depression—and how both phenomena brought about social change and new demands from groups that had previously held little power.
In the case of Spain, the obstruction of a democratic resolution to the political system and to socioeconomic reforms during the reign of Alfonso XIII (1902–1931) led to a crisis of the monarchy, which in turn resulted in the establishment of the Second Republic in April 1931. The lack of a democratic tradition in Spanish society, along with widely differing opinions on what should or should not be reformed—and how—soon gave rise to disagreements among political parties and labour unions, and at times to violent conflict.
It did not help that monarchist and anti-democratic sectors began conspiring against the new regime from the very beginning. The attempted coup by General José Sanjurjo in August 1932 was an early warning of the threat looming over the Republic. Later, the leftist revolution in Asturias and the uprising by the Generalitat in Catalonia in October 1934 set the country on a path of political polarization that would ultimately lead to the Civil War.
The actual trigger for the war was the refusal of the right, already disillusioned with the democratic regime, to accept the victory of the Popular Front in the elections of February 1936 and its decision to join the ongoing military conspiracies. At the same time, the left distanced itself from the governance of the country, while broad sectors of socialists and anarchists advocated—at least rhetorically—for revolution. During the spring of 1936, both sides were involved in thousands of violent street incidents, which alarmed public opinion and, at the same time, provided a pretext for the military conspirators. Meanwhile, the center-left government attempted to bring the situation under control, with mixed success. It was in this context that the military coup of 17 July 1936, took place.