Contextual

Brief history of Spain under Francisco Franco

Francisco Franco Bahamonde (4 December 1892 in

Ferrol – 20 November 1975 in Madrid), was a military general and dictator of Spain from October 1936 until his death in 1975. During his almost forty year reign, Franco's governance of Spain enforced a strong sense of Spanish nationalism and protection of the country's territorial integrity, Catholicism, anti-communism and "traditional values”.

After the end of World War II, Franco maintained his control in Spain through the implementation of repressive and authoritarian measures: the systematic suppression of dissident views through censorship and coercion, the institutionalization of torture, the imprisonment of ideological enemies in concentration camps throughout the country, the implementation of forced labor in prisons and the use of the death penalty and heavy prison sentences as deterrents for his ideological enemies. After his death Spain gradually began its transition to democracy. Today, pre-constitutional symbols from the Franco regime (such as the national flag with the Imperial Eagle) are banned by law in Spain.

The aftermath of the Civil War was socially bleak: many of those who had supported the Republic fled into exile. Spain lost thousands of doctors, nurses, teachers, lawyers, judges, professors, businessmen, artists, etc. Many of those who had to stay lost their jobs or lost their rank. Sometimes those jobs were given to unskilled and even untrained personnel. This deprived the country of many of its brightest minds, and also of a very capable workforce. However, this was done to keep Spain's citizens consistent with the ideals sought by the Nationalists and Franco.

He promoted the use of Spanish and suppressed other languages such as Catalan, Galician, and Basque. The legal usage of languages other than Spanish was forbidden. The usage of any other language was forbidden in schools, in advertising, and on road and shop signs. Publications in other languages were generally forbidden. Citizens continued to speak these languages in private. This was the situation throughout the forties and, to a lesser extent, during the fifties, but after 1960 the non-Castilian Spanish languages were freely spoken and written and reached bookshops and stages, although they never received official status.

Catholicism in its most conservative variant was made official religion of the Spanish State. Civil servants had to be Catholic, and some official jobs even required a "good behavior" statement by a priest. Civil marriages which had taken place under Republican Spain were declared null and void and had to be reconfirmed by the Catholic Church of Spain. Civil marriages were only possible after the couple made a public renunciation to the Catholic Church. Divorce was forbidden, and also contraceptives and abortion.

Francoism professed a devotion to the traditional role of women in society, that is: loving child to her parents and brothers, faithful to her husband, residing with her family. Official propaganda confined her role to family care and motherhood. Women could not become judges, or testify in trial. They could not become university professors. Their affairs and economy had to be managed by their father or by their husbands. Until the 1970s a woman could not have a bank account without a co-sign by her father or husband. In the 1960s and 1970s the situation was somewhat relieved, but it was not until Franco's death that a true equality with men became law.