Franco's Dictatorship in Spain
Francisco Franco was born in El Ferrol, Spain on December 4th 1892. He was the second son of a father who was a naval paymaster and a devout catholic mother. Franco's father was eccentric, wasteful and somewhat dissolute (Trythall, pg 1). Franco was destined for a career as a naval office but reduction of admissions forced him to choose the army. At age fourteen he gained admission to Spain's premiere military institution, the Infantry Academy at Toledo. By age twenty he was promoted to first lieutenant in an elite regiment of native Moroccan Calvery. Franco quickly rose through military ranks. He developed a lifelong reputation as an invincible fighter(encarta-Esenwein). In 1915 he became the youngest captain in the Spanish army. By age thirty four, he was Europe's youngest general since Napoleon I. In 1931 Spain's second republic was formed , after ruler Primo de Rivera's hold on power had come to an abrupt end. The founding of the second republic enraged conservatives, including Franco who was a stanch traditionalist and loyal defender or the Spanish crown(Esenwein, pg. 4). The new republic shut down the Academia General Militar in Zaragoza which Franco had headed since it opened in 1928. At first Franco didn't involve himsel
During the 1950's Spain entered a new era with western democracies. Western nations began to view his pro-catholic, anti-Communist regime in a more positive way. Franco made a treaty with the United States in 1953, known as the Pacts of Madrid. This provided the US with access to several military and naval bases in Spain in return for military and economic assistance. This agreement later cause Spain to be officially admitted into the United Nations. Spain's reuniting back into the international community helped secure Franco's dictatorship. Although he maintained control of his society by suppressing all signs of regionalism, liberal politics and left wing trade unionism(Trythall pg11). In July 1969 at age 76 Franco named Don Juan Carlos de Borbon his successor. Franco died in November 1975 after years of suffering from Parkinson's disease and other illnesses. Although Franco had visions of restoring Spanish glory after the Civil War, he was really the leader of an exhausted country still divided internally and impoverished by a long and costly war.(Trythallpg3) Only five months later , World War II broke out. Franco was shocked by Hitler's unprovoked Assault and avoided involvement in the war. Evidence indicates that if Hitler had ever been in a position to win a total victory, Franco would have been willing to enter the war on Germany's side(Trythall). Franco's government remained relatively sympathetic to Hitler carefully avoiding direct military commitment. Franco switched his favor from side to side, depending on who seemed to be winning(Comptons). For Spain the 1960's were and economic turnaround. It b
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1099
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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