The Kingdom of Spain

The Kingdom of Spain is a sovereign state located on the Iberian Peninsula in Southern Europe. Spain controls several colonies, namely the Rif, Spanish West Africa, and Spanish Guinea. Spain currently borders the tumultuous state of the French Third Republic, the city state of Andorra, the Republic of Portugal, and the United Kingdom in Gibraltar. Spain also borders the Mediterranean Sea as well as the Bay of Biscay. The Spanish possessions in Africa as well as Galicia, the Asturias and Seville border the Atlantic Ocean. The Spanish hold possession over several islands, namely the Canary Islands, Fernando Po, and the Balearic Islands.

## History

The recent history of Spain is unstable at best. A very unpopular military dictatorship headed by José Sanjurjo, the most powerful man in Spain has the monarch as his puppet. Tensions are reaching a boiling point, with the violent take down of a Syndicalist movement in 1935. The legitimacy of the monarchy is under question too. Their recent losses in the Spanish-American War have left a bad mark upon the monarchy. Recently general Francisco Franco has gained much popularity due to his victories in the Rif against the rebels, and it is possible he is vying for control of his own.

### The Rif War (1911-1921)

The Rif War was a rebellion lead by Moroccans in the Rif, a territory owned by Spain. They were fighting for their independence and the creation of the Rif Republic. Starting in 1911, the rebels were beating the Spanish back. However in a recent turn of events starting in 1919, General Francisco Franco, was beginning to beat back the Berbers at Annual and again at Mellila, in 1921, snuffing out the last remaining resistance in the Rif.

### The Riveran Era (1923-1930)

In 1923, Syndicalist rioters sprung up in Barcelona, protesting the monarchy and hoping to topple it. An army under Primo de Rivera had fired upon the rioters. This lead of massive upheavals in Spain. Syndicalist rioted in Madrid, Bilbao, Zaragoza, Barcelona, Valencia and many other major cities. The Prime Minister of Spain was killed during the riots, having thought to have been the man who ordered Rivera to kill the rioters in Barcelona. Swiftly Rivera lead his troops through Spain quashing any resistance from the Syndicalist. Later on in the year Alfonso XIII appointed Rivera prime minister. Primo de Rivera was effectively the military dictator, forcing the parliament to do what he wanted through the leverage of the army. This sparked anger among the Spanish, causing them look for a new person to lead the country. Many of them turned to the Syndicalist, some wanted the Carlist to take control, thinking that Alfonso XIII was weak. Some others wanted to empower Alfonso XIII. And others looked to a new dictator. The Rivera would gain some support, looking to build up the country and make it into a industrial power house, but still, many despised him.

### The Bolean Era (1930- )

In 1930, Rivera died while in Madrid, and this left a major power vacuum. Syndicalist and other groups began to battle it out in the streets, intimidating political rivals and others. The riots were put down by Carlos Bolea, another military dictator and again, forced the King to name him Prime Minister. The Bolean Era was similar to the Riveran Era, but more violent. Bolea established a ruthless secret police force. In 1935, a Syndicalist rebellion was ruthlessly put down by Carlos Bolea's Army. Despite having a violent regime in place, Bolea heavily modernized the Airforce and Army with the help of the Germans, but neglected the navy. He also lead several expeditions to secure Spanish West Africa, and has established a firm grip over the colony. He also set in several programs to assimilate the natives into becoming Spaniards, teaching them how to act like Europeans, how to dress like Europeans, and to teach them Spanish.

## Military

### Army

The Spanish Army consist of 20 Divisions. The Spanish Army has recently been rapidly modernized by Carlos Bolea, but is not as comparable to one of the armies of the Great Powers, such as Germany. The Spanish Army has deep cracks within it, with Alfonsist loyalist and Falangist and is mostly conservative. However, small groups are Syndicalist.

### Navy

The Spanish Navy consist of 37 ships, and is woefully unprepared for a war. Bolea, in which the military was heavily modernized, left the navy neglected. Bolea decided that the Navy was never going to be up to snuff with other navies from Europe, so he decided to focus on strengthening the army.

### Airforce

The Spanish Airforce consist of 478 planes. Under the Bolean regime, the Spanish military was heavily modernized, and the planes in use are top of the line airplanes. The airforce is largely conservative and had strong Alfonsist ties.