The Spanish Civil War began in July 1936 and ended in April 1939. Spain in the early 1930s was a deeply divided nation. There were two main factions in Spain: those on the left and those on the right. Unlike the United States political system, on the left were the Republicans (also called Loyalists) and on the right were the Nationalists. The Republicans were a conglomeration of many groups that coalesced around the main commonality: their opposition to fascism. This group consisted of communists, monarchists, socialists, anarchists, and many ordinary people (such as peasants and factory workers). On the right, nationalists included the middle and upper classes, supporters of the Catholic Church, and, of course, those who fully supported a fascist regime. In the years before the Spanish Civil War, the country was still dealing with many internal problems. . Some of these questions concerned the type of government that should govern Spain. To complicate matters, government preference depended largely on which Spanish city you resided in. As early as 1923, a military coup wrested power from the monarchical government and replaced it with a military dictatorship. Miguel Primo de Rivera was officially Prime Minister and served under King Alfonso XIII, but in reality Rivera was more like a dictator with a puppet monarchy. In 1930, Rivera resigned as he no longer wanted to rule over such a deeply divided nation. Rumors swirled that he may have foreseen a civil war brewing and wanted to leave power before they came after him. This would make sense, since the European world had just witnessed the dramatic and violent unfolding of the Russian Revolution. Rivera f...... middle of paper ......opic/558032/Spanish-Civil-War (accessed March 9, 2014). donQuijote. "Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) - History of Spain | don Quijote." 2014. http://www.donquijote.org/culture/spain/history/the-spanish-civil-war.asp (accessed March 9, 2014). English.illinois.edu. “The Spanish Civil War: An Overview – by Cary Nelson.” 2014. http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/scw/overview.htm (accessed March 9, 2014). Socialistworker.org. “The Spanish Civil War.” 2014. http://socialistworker.org/20062/597/597_15_Spain.shtml (accessed March 9, 2014). Casahistoria.net. "Background | Events | Franco | Nationalists | Republicans | Foreign reaction | Visual and literary materials | Analysis." 2014. http://www.casahistoria.net/civilwar.htm (accessed March 9, 2014). Spartacus Educational. “The Spanish Civil War.” 2014. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Spanish-Civil-War.htm (accessed March 12 2014).