Spanish Falange

The Spanish Falange appears in the book’s historical notes as a Spanish fascist party founded in 1933 by José Antonio, the eldest son of Primo de Rivera. Its brief mention places the organization within a compressed chronology of dictatorship, the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic, and the later Spanish Civil War; the notes do not describe its structure, program, or political activity in detail.

Identity and Foundation

The notes identify the Spanish Falange explicitly as a fascist party and give its founding year as 1933. Its founder, José Antonio, is identified as Primo de Rivera’s eldest son. No further information is supplied about the party’s membership, organization, platform, or methods, so its characterization here rests on that concise identification rather than a fuller account of its politics.

Political Context

The surrounding historical account traces the events preceding the founding. On September 13, 1923, Primo de Rivera led a military coup in Barcelona, overthrew the government, and established himself as dictator, claiming that he would restore democratic rule after political and economic problems had been overcome, corruption abolished, and order restored. He received substantial public support, and the king appointed him prime minister. Primo de Rivera resigned on January 28, 1930, after losing the support of the king and army; the king later abdicated, and the Second Spanish Republic followed on April 14, 1931. The Spanish Falange’s founding in 1933 therefore falls after this change of regime, though the notes do not specify how the party related to the preceding dictatorship or the Republic.

Civil War and the Limits of the Account

The notes go on to say that both of Primo de Rivera’s sons were imprisoned and executed when the Spanish Civil War began in July 1936. They then state that the Nationalists, led by Franco, won the war and established a fascist regime. This places the Spanish Falange’s founding in a historical sequence that later ends in fascist rule, but the account does not explain the party’s particular role in the war or the regime that followed. Its significance in the book is thus primarily chronological: it marks the emergence of a named fascist party within the wider political history summarized in the notes.