Alternative history: the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939

[belianis]

If you surf the Internet, you will find many posters bemoaning the fact that the ,,legitimate'' government of Spain--whose share of the vote in 1936 was exactly 34%--was defeated by the ,,fascists'' of Franco.
I can't feel sympathy for the losers. As the war dragged on, the far Left became so predominant in the Republican government that it's a very strong likelihood that the result of a Republican victory would have been a Stalinist state of the same brand that oppressed Eastern Europe for four tragic decades.
Most of the citizenry of the states that formed the Confederacy in 1861-65 have reconciled themselves to the idea that God knew what He was doing when He decided that the CSA should lose the US Civil War. Will the Left ever become reconciled to the idea that God had perfectly valid reasons to decide that the Second Spanish Republic should lose the 1936-39 War?
It was because of Franco's victory that the Spanish monarchy was restored. Who but the Spanish Royal House can claim the loyalty of all the ancient kingdoms that make up present-day Spain?

[Yseult]

Breathless...

[belianis]

What do you think might have happened if the Sp republicans had won the 1936-39 War?
What do you think might have happened if the monarchy had been restored immediately after the Nationalist victory?

[belianis]

What do you think might have happened if the Sp republicans had won the 1936-39 War?
What do you think might have happened if the monarchy had been restored immediately after the Nationalist victory?

Obviously, both situations would have been affected by WWII, exactly as was the case with the Franco regime. Do you think that Alfonso XIII or any other monarch would have been more successful at remaining neutral than a republic that would likely have been dominated by the Left?

[gogm]

I can't answer the question, but I have one question:

Was the Spanish royal family then pro-Axis?

My best guess is they were not pro-Axis. That would be a reason for Franco to hold on to power and not share it with a King.

[Tybalt]

God knew what He was doing
  End of the monarchies in France, Germany, Austria, Portugal, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria, Greece, Russia, Serbia, Italy, and all the countries of Germany and Italy

[Tybalt]

I can't feel sympathy for the losers
 Louis XVI, Nicolas II, Charles I° Stuart, Alfonso XIII, Charles X of France, Louis-Philippe, James II Stuart, Humberto II, Karl I° of Austria, Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, Edward I° of England, Richard II of England, Henry VI of England, Richard III of England, Zog I° of Albania, Wilhelm II of Germany, Simeon II of Bulgaria, Napoléon I° and III, Constantin I° and II kings of the Hellens, king Felipe IV of Spain, Gustave IV of Sweden, Miguel I° of Portugal, Pedro II of Brasil, Manuel II of Portugal, Mickael I° of Rumania, Peter III of Russia, Carlos IV of Spain, Isabel II of Spain, Petar II of Yugoslavia... I'm not sure you like history (too many people you don't like !!)

[belianis]

I can't feel sympathy for the losers of that war.
Louis XVI, Nicolas II, Charles I° Stuart, Alfonso XIII, Charles X of France, Louis-Philippe, James II Stuart, Humberto II, Karl I° of Austria, Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, Edward I° of England, Richard II of England, Henry VI of England, Richard III of England, Zog I° of Albania, Wilhelm II of Germany, Simeon II of Bulgaria, Napoléon I° and III, Constantin I° and II kings of the Hellens, king Felipe IV of Spain, Gustave IV of Sweden, Miguel I° of Portugal, Pedro II of Brasil, Manuel II of Portugal, Mickael I° of Rumania, Peter III of Russia, Carlos IV of Spain, Isabel II of Spain, Petar II of Yugoslavia... I'm not sure you like history (too many people you don't like !!)

I can certainly sympathise with the people you mention. Most of the people who took their place were unadulterated rascals who deserved deaths as violent as those of Robespierre and Ceausescu.

[belianis]

Why would anybody want Spain to be a republic? Most European republics are drab and uninteresting; they don't have the glamour of the monarchies. Who knows who is the President of Germany? Nobody, not even the Germans, because the President of Germany is a total nonentity who has no influence in the government of the country. It would be an entirely different matter if Germany were a Kaiserreich with an Emperor, either elected, as in the 1st Reich, or hereditary, as in the 2d Reich.

[gogm]

I'd be interested in what Yseult may say. Spain is more diverse than the UK where the diverse groups are loyal to the crown, but not necessarily to each other. The Scots don't appear to have affection for much else in the United Kingdom. Since Victoria, UK monarchs have paid considerable attention to Scottish national identity.

I have been told that Franco, the erstwhile "monarchist," tried to erase the Basco national identity. That's more difficult work for Juan Carlos and Sofia now and Felipe and Letizia in the future.

Over here in the USA, trying to post while a willful kitten plays with the keyboard and blocks the screen, I'll stand corrected if what I wrote is erroneous or offensive.