After a brutal civil war that lasted for nearly 4 years, which began with a military rebellion and ended with the killing of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians, the Spanish nationalists succeeded in extending their control over the entire country in the spring of 1939, months before the outbreak of World War II.
Although Nazi Germany and its ally Italy provided support to the nationalists led by Francisco Franco, Spain did not join the Axis powers in their war, although it did not prevent thousands of volunteers from being sent to Hitler, most likely due to the devastating results of the internal fighting that the country witnessed.
However, it does not seem that Franco and his supporters were entirely focused on the country’s dire reality. In the summer of 1940, his supporters roamed the streets of Madrid chanting slogans demanding the return of Gibraltar, while the government published posters asserting its ownership of Cuba, the Philippines, California, Arizona, Texas and Florida. .
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During this period, crowds of “fascists” attacked the embassies of Britain and the United States, newspapers criticized “degenerate democracies,” and “Franco” and his son-in-law “Cerrano Soyer” delivered weekly speeches attacking the Allies and threatening to enter the war at any moment, according to an article published by “Foreign Affairs.” In 1944, entitled “Dreams of the Spanish Empire.”
This expansionist discourse and calls based on a long and glorious colonial history based on the blood of other peoples was an extension of Franco’s pledge at the beginning of the Nationalists’ rule when he said: “In front of the ashes of our dead empire, and on the promise of another empire.”
Over time, it seemed that Franco was not serious about joining Hitler, and some researchers suggested that they were not in complete agreement and that the fragile understanding between them was only for a common interest. With the successive defeats suffered by the Axis powers, the dream of the Spanish leader to restore glory became clear. Just a mirage,” and perhaps it was nothing more than “populist rhetoric aimed only at provoking the masses.”
But one of the historical ironies is that Franco remained alive and in power of the country for many years after the end of World War II, to witness for himself how the expansionist ambitions and dreams of the past for both Germany and Japan were very costly, and as soon as the borders of the two countries were extended to the maximum possible point, they quickly returned. The rubber also bounces back after being stretched.
Even in his country’s ancient imperial history, evidence suggests that colonial expansion and ambitions usually ended badly, and were never proven to last forever, lessons for all who hope to return the world to the confines of the Dark Ages and the era of colonial exploration.
The glories of the past are the illusions of the present
In fact, Spanish fascism was not the product of a war or a failed treaty, but rather an uprising against nearly “three centuries of humiliation,” according to a Foreign Affairs article by Thomas J. Hamilton, a New York City bureau chief. Times” in Madrid at the time.
– The Spanish Empire was born as a result of the union of the Kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, and during the period between the 15th and 16th centuries, Spain was a great colonial power that was feared, and it even signed an agreement with its neighbor, Portugal. To share the world and its resourceswithout any regard to countries such as England, France, and the Netherlands.
At its peak, Spain controlled half of South America, most of Central America, large parts of North America (Mexico and the southern part of the United States that we know today), some islands in Southeast Asia, in addition to large parts of Italy and some regions in northern and central Europe, and even in Africa.
– At this stage, the Spanish Empire was one of the largest in history, and in total it controlled 35 colonies that extended across every continent on Earth except Australia and Antarctica.
The Spanish Kingdom was crowned with the title of “Mistress of the World” in the sixteenth century after its great expansion and progress in various fields, but this glory did not last forever, as is clear, and its civilization declined as it was considered a third-rate power by the end of the nineteenth century.
– The Spanish Empire began to decline over time (historians believe that this began in the seventeenth century), as many of its colonies became independent, and lost areas of influence to other rising powers that did not pay attention to them or take their movements into account.
The great and rapid expansion over two centuries was the beginning of the end for Spanish ambition, which was not enough to control the various rebellious movements and the collapse of the union with Portugal, in addition to successive military losses at the hands of the European powers, especially in the war in North America.
Added to this are multiple economic crises, a series of epidemics that killed more than a million people, and incompetent leadership that left the country’s defenses weak, and by the middle of the twentieth century this sprawling empire had disappeared and retreated to its borders on the Iberian Peninsula.
What is interesting in the story of the collapse of the Spanish Empire is the economic deterioration resulting from the outbreak of the plague, and the expulsion of the Moriscos and Moroccans, which led to serious demographic changes that caused the slowdown of the economy, the deterioration of thriving industrial cities, and the collapse of major industries, according to the writer and history lecturer at the Scottish University of Dundee. Christopher Stowers.”
The incomprehensible lesson
– There were many lessons in the history of the Spanish Empire that Franco had to realize before he dared to open up his naive dreams, and in fact, it was the most obvious thing that he evaded; The fact that he came four centuries late to lead a major colonial and economic power, and coincided with his presence at the bottom of his country’s civilizational curve.
Franco’s model at the beginning of his rule of the country reminds us of US President-elect Donald Trump, who often threatened and threatened his allies before his opponents, and has recently begun to promote his country’s right to restore the Panama Canal, impose control over Greenland, which belongs to Denmark, annex Canada, and rename… The Gulf of Mexico is called the “Gulf of America”.
Not only did Trump request control of these areas or buy them, as he sometimes did in his first term, but he threatened to use military force to annex the Panama Canal and impose control on the island of Greenland. He also threatened Canada with severe economic pressure, not to mention the threat of withdrawal from NATO and economic war. With China and Mexico.
– While Trump has many of Franco’s unruly traits, such as greed, political selfishness, expansionist desire, and colonial dreams (and also his ability to talk a lot and be hostile to everyone), there is no doubt that he also possesses qualities that the Spanish leader did not have, and which, in fact, are very similar to those of the Spanish leader. The empire is at its peak.
– But possessing the ability does not necessarily mean possessing the right, and if America now has the characteristics of the Spanish Kingdom in its glory, then it deserves to learn from the mistakes it made, towards which Washington in the Trump era seems to be steadily being led.
– Among these: Large and rapid expansion, hostility to many parties, failure to pay attention to rising powers and alliances of smaller powers, revolutions of angry peoples, and failure to provide a conducive environment for everyone to contribute to the economy (Trump threatens to expel immigrants).
– History is full of many models, such as Trump and Franco, who did not learn the lessons well, and it was also rich in evidence of the end of this ambition, such as the collapse of the Roman Empire more than 1,500 years ago, which was also driven by exaggerated expansion and a spending boom (especially on… army), economic turmoil, dependence on slave labor, and the widening gap between rich and poor due to the tax system.
– Next come more recent but rapidly disappearing models, such as the French Empire under Napoleon Bonaparte, Nazi Germany and Japan, all of which share rapid expansion, great scope for hostility, excessive arrogance among leaders, and neglect of the economy in favor of military conflicts.
Where is Trump leading America?
In his first term, Trump called for similar matters, such as purchasing Greenland under the pretext of preserving American national security, but he could not and did not undertake any adventure. However, on the internal level, he was more practical, restricting entry conditions for immigrants and denying visas to many nationalities. He also sparked a trade war with China and exhausted his allies in negotiations.
– But in the end, “Trump” left and “Joe Biden” came, and the rules changed again, and the foreign discourse of the United States differed, and 4 years from now, he will leave again and others will come, and his rules will change again.
– But if he actually embarks on a military adventure, and he has repeatedly criticized the United States’ military interventions abroad, then whoever comes after him will have to deal with what he spoiled and rebuild relations and alliances again, and America will be the only one who will bear the burden of this mistake.
– For example, with regard to waving the military option of annexing the Panama Canal or Greenland, this is very similar to what happened in 1956 when Britain, France and Israel invaded Egyptian territory to control the Suez Canal.
– But international pressure led by the United States, which was claiming at the time to defend the law, stopped the tripartite aggression, and the anniversary turned into a curse in the literature of British politics, and historians view it as the event that confirmed the decline of Britain’s status into a “second-class global power.”
Whenever the political situation worsens and the British government approaches failure in a file, politicians bring this incident back to mind and constantly warn against causing a “new, similar crisis.” The incident became a measure of failure and a comparison of the severity of crises such as the military withdrawal from Afghanistan and exit from the European Union and their consequences. .
– What Trump, and those before him, Franco, Napoleon, and others did not understand, is that resources are running out, strength turns into weakness, the old grow old and the young grow old, and the circles of life revolve as they have since the beginning of time. This is what happened in ancient Rome, Spain and France. This is what will continue to happen, or as the poet said: “Eternity will inevitably tear apart every bright spot… if thorns and thorns grow.”
– Most likely, Trump and his supporters will wake up in four years to what Franco and his fascism accomplished after the end of World War II, and this is okay given the difference in the status of Spain then and America now.
– But then it will be important for them not to wake up having put their country on the wrong path that relegated Spain to a third-class power or Britain to a second-class power, and did to Roman civilization what it did.
Sources: Numbers – Artificial Intelligence “Gemini” – Encyclopedia Britannica – Gaystor Library of Scientific Publications – Book ReviewFranco and Hitler: Spain, Germany“Published in “The American Historical Review” – Foreign Affairs – The New York Times – World Atlas – “Geal” portal for research and educational publications – Cambridge University Research – History – Imperial War Museum website”iwm“- The Guardian
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