Spanish History – Page 14 – General History

Spain: This peculiar strike

I have not mentioned the air traffic controllers ‘strike’ because the media has talked of nothing else since the dreadful weekend at the beginning of December, when all air traffic over Spanish territory was cancelled at the orders, apparently, of AENA, the government-controlled body that manages Spain’s far too numerous airports (47 at the last count, many virtually unused, but the Ministry of Development is building more at towns you may never have heard of, like Teruel).

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By Dean Swift| 2010-12-16T13:30:18+00:00 December 16th, 2010|English History, French History, German History, Spanish History, World History|0 Comments

The Great Cabinet Re-shuffle: the significance

On a recent Sunday the President of the Government was asked at a meeting if he intended to remodel his government, by making changes among the ministers. Rodríguez Zapatero replied briefly to the effect that the only change considered at the time was a new post for the retiring Minister of Labour, Celestino Corbacho. Sr. Corbacho had announced his intention of returning to the normal (?) everyday debate in Catalan politics.

As writers in all the Spanish newspapers correctly predicted, this meant that on the day after, a Monday, the El Pais website duly ‘leaked’ the news that there was about to be a positively volcanic re-shuffle of responsibilities in the Cabinet, in which only Mr Zapatero himself would be untouched, one way or the other.

First, Zapatero has removed three of his most stalwart fans and supporters. María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, senior vice-president and ZP’s staunchest admirer; Miguel Angel Moratinos, Foreign Minister, and Elena Espinosa, Minister for the Environment are all out. They will be given sinecures for their pains. Moratinos learnt about his abrupt dismissal while occupying his seat in Congress, and was seen to weep.

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By Dean Swift| 2010-10-26T09:43:54+00:00 October 26th, 2010|Spanish History, World History|0 Comments

Imperialism

Called by some ‘colonialism’ – a mistake – imperialism is a term frequently abused by being used pejoratively by politicians and journalists. For historians, the word can be applied to numerous epochs, in each of which there may be detected a shade of difference, always significant.

Persia, Macedonia, Ottoman Turkey, Spain, France, Soviet Russia and Britain have extended their respective domain over other societies at different times, giving way to imperial rule. Germany has attempted to rule over others, using force. Britain used commercial enterprise backed by a powerful navy. Spain used a powerful navy backed by the immense courage of the conquistadores. Persia used vast resources and her armies, while Alexander’s Macedonia used the outstanding personality and popularity of its leader to create an empire.

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By Dean Swift| 2010-10-21T22:07:42+00:00 October 21st, 2010|African History, Asian History, English History, South American History, Spanish History, US History, World History|0 Comments

The Congress of Vienna (1814/15)

This international assembly could be said to have established the system of diplomacy that lasted throughout the 19th century, and a long way beyond. It set out to settle the affairs of Europe after the defeat of Napoleon, whom when it began was supposedly safely locked up on the island of Elba. Despite the Emperor’s escape and subsequent attempt at European domination – again – the Congress continued during the Hundred Days (March – to June, 1815) that led to Waterloo. After Bonaparte had been taken to St. Helena (where he died) the whole of Europe could, for the first time in thirty-five years, breathe freely again.

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By Dean Swift| 2025-05-20T21:01:38+00:00 October 21st, 2010|English History, South American History, Spanish History, US History, World History|0 Comments

Spanish Civil War (1936-39)

These three years saw a conflict that really was a civil war, just as the Wars of the Roses in England were not. A real civil war splits the country, regions, families, married couples and best friends in two, for purely ideological reasons. England’s feudal War of the Roses was a series of basically private battles fought between members of a powerful aristocracy, employing their private armies, with the aim of securing the throne for one family or the other.

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By Dean Swift| 2025-05-20T21:01:26+00:00 October 18th, 2010|Spanish History, World History|1 Comment

Treaty of Versailles: Facts, Causes and Effects

One of the chief contributing causes of the Second World War was the Treaty of Versailles (June, 1919), that officially ended the First World War. Its main terms were surrender of ALL German colonies in Africa and the Far East, which would be mandated to Britain, France, Belgium, South Africa, Japan and Australia. This led to a re-distribution under a series of mandates – for example, the return of Alsace-Lorraine to France, the cession of Eupen-Malmedy to Belgium; plebiscites to be held in Northern Schleswig, the cession of Prussian Poland, parts of East Prussia and Upper Silesia to Poland; (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2025-05-20T21:01:16+00:00 October 18th, 2010|English History, Spanish History, US History, World History|23 Comments

Zapatero Analysis

/ infosurhoy.com

History, like Time itself, is a continuous and living process. History might be of events that happened 4000 years ago, or 400 or forty, yesterday is already history. In fifty years time the story of J.L.Rodríguez Zapatero’s rise and fall will be included in a history book written perhaps by someone not yet born. It will be the history of a small town lawyer rising rapidly through the ranks of the Socialist Workers’ Party of Spain to become Secretary General, later President of the Government which some have denounced as the worst since the death of Franco.

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By Dean Swift| 2010-10-17T20:15:45+00:00 October 17th, 2010|Spanish History, World History|5 Comments