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July 17, 1936Reputable source · 2 sourcesWell documented

The Spanish Civil War Begins

A military uprising in Morocco spreads to the mainland and splits Spain into Nationalist and Republican zones

On the timeline · around July 17, 1936 · Modern SpainModern SpainThe Spanish Civil War Begins180018251850187519001925195019752000

Quick facts

Second Republic formed
1931
War begins
July 17, 1936
Key rebel figure
General Francisco Franco
Initial split
Rebels hold Morocco/north; Republicans hold Madrid

What happened

Spain's Second Republic, formed in 1931 after King Alfonso XIII fled the country, had legalized divorce, extended women's suffrage, and stripped the nobility of legal privileges. When leftist parties won power in the February 1936 elections, right-wing military officers, including General Francisco Franco, who had been sidelined to a command in the Canary Islands, began plotting a coup. The revolt broke out on July 17, 1936, in Spanish Morocco and spread to the mainland the next day after Franco broadcast a call for all army officers to join it. Within three days rebel forces held Morocco, much of northern Spain, and several southern cities, while Republican forces held on in Madrid and other areas, splitting the country into two warring zones.

Why it matters

What began as a military coup attempt failed to seize the whole country in its first days and instead became a three-year civil war that drew in foreign intervention from Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and the Soviet Union, and that would end with Franco ruling Spain as dictator for the next thirty-six years.

How we know

The outbreak of the war, the February 1936 election results, and Franco's broadcast call to arms are documented in Spanish government and military records of the period and summarized in HISTORY's account of the war's opening days.

Sources

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Part of a timelineHistory of Spain27 events · Iberian tribes, Roman emperors, a caliphate at Cordoba, and a Reconquista that took nearly 800 years to finishView all →
The Spanish Civil War Begins · History of Spain · SourcedStory