By The History Man

Tomorrow, November 20, is the 49th anniversary of the death of Spanish dictator General Franco. The History Man remembers the day Franco died in 1975 and writes a short history of the man who outlived by three decades his fascist contemporaries, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.

General Franco is laid to rest [Photo: Daily Mail]

How I found out

In November 1975 I was a young teacher in Cheshire in the North West of England. I was in my second year of teaching Spanish. One Thursday Vicente, our somewhat dour Spanish assistant, rushed into the staff room, all smiles and talking excitedly in his native tongue. “El sinverguenza ha fallecido por fin" ("The bastard’s dead at last!”) he cried in Spanish. “Who’s dead?” I asked.

Generalísimo Franco, Spain’s dictator for almost 40 years, had finally passed away after a lengthy illness. Vicent, as he became at a stroke, was thrilled to bits. Apart from all the atrocities that could be laid at Franco’s door, he had for forty years repressed the linguistic minorities in Spain. The Basques, the Catalans and the Galicians were forbidden to use their native languages euskera, catalán and gallego. So, also the Valencians. Vicent was a valenciano, so from that November day on he decided he would be known by his nombre valenciano, Vicent.

This policy of linguistic repression was somewhat odd, given that Francisco Franco Bahamonde was a gallego, born in El Ferrol in Galicia in 1892 into an upper-class military family.       

Languages of Spain [Image courtesy of Reddit]

Franco's early career

Franco enrolled in the Spanish Army as a cadet and rose quickly through the ranks to become brigadier general aged 33, the youngest general in Spain. 

After leading the suppression of the 1934 uprising in Asturias, Franco was briefly elevated to Chief of Army Staff before the 1936 election moved the leftist Popular Front into power, relegating him to the Canary Islands. After initial reluctance, he joined the July 1936 military coup which sparked the Spanish Civil War.

During the civil war, he commandeered Spain’s colonial army in Africa and, after the deaths of many of the rebel leadership, became his faction’s only leader, later appointed Generalísimo and Head of State in 1936.

Three years later the Guerra Civil ended when the nationalists declared victory which extended Franco’s dictatorship over Spain through a period of repression of political opponents. His dictatorship’s use of forced labour, concentration camps, and executions led to between 30,000 and 50,000 deaths after the war. Combined with wartime killings, this brings the death toll of the so-called “White Terror” to between 100,000 and 200,000.

In post-Civil-War Spain, Franco ruled with more power than any Spanish leader before or since, and developed a cult of personality around his rule by founding the Movimiento Nacional. During World War II he maintained Spanish neutrality but supported the Axis, whose members Italy and Germany had supported him during the Civil War, in various ways, thereby damaging the country’s international reputation.

    [Photo courtesy of Wikipedia]

Franco as Spanish dictator

During the start of the Cold War, Franco lifted Spain out of its mid-20th century economic depression through technocratic and economically liberal policies, presiding over a period of rampant growth known as the “Spanish miracle”.

Franco started struggling with Parkinson’s disease in the 1960s. Owing to advanced age and illness, in 1973 he resigned as prime minister, separated from the head of state office since 1967, but remained in power as the head of state and commander-in-chief of the military.

Always a monarchist, Franco had restored the monarchy in his final years, by nominating Juan Carlos de Borbón as his successor to the role of head of state.

Two days after his death, Juan Carlos became King of Spain, and led the Spanish transition to democracy.

    Juan Carlos with Franco [Libertad Digital]

Spain post-Franco

The legacy of Franco in Spanish history remains controversial as the nature of his dictatorship changed over time. His reign was marked by both brutal repression, with thousands killed, and economic prosperity, which greatly improved the quality of life in Spain.

His dictatorial style proved highly adaptable, which enabled wide-sweeping social and economic reform, while consistent pursuits during his reign centred on highly centralised government, authoritarianism, nationalism, national Catholicism, anti-freemasonry, and anti-communism.

Franco was controversially buried in the Valle de los Caídos (Valley of the Fallen), the huge mausoleum outside Madrid he had built by the forced labour of political prisoners to honour the dead of both sides in the Civil War. He was the only person interred there who did not die during the conflict.

After much campaigning, in October 2019 Franco’s remains were removed from the Valley and reburied alongside his wife, Carmen, in a cemetery near Madrid.

    Valle de los Caídos [Photo: La Vanguardia]

Endpiece

Back in that staff room in Cheshire in 1975, I don’t think Vicent or I or anyone else thought that Spain’s transition to democracy and a constitutional monarchy would be so rapid and successful.

"The bastard’s dead, long live the King!"

© The History Man

With thanks to:

Daily Mail

La Vanguardia

Libertad Digital

Paul Whitelock

Wikipedia

Recommended reading:

Between Two Fires by David Baird (Maroma Press, 2008)

Guerra by Jason Webster (Black Swan, 2006)

The Spanish Civil War – A Very Short Introduction by Helen Graham (Oxford UP, 2005)

The Rise and Fall of King Juan Carlos I

Tags:

Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Between Two Fires, communism, David Baird, death, democracy, dictator, General Franco, Guerra, Helen Graham, Jason Webster, Juan Carlos, king, Paul Whitelock, Spain, Spanish Civil War, Valle de los Caídos, Valley of the Fallen, Wikipedia, World War II
 

11 November is the date of the Armistice which signified the end of the First World War in 1918. It has become the date when all subsequent wars involving British and Commonwealth troops is remembered.

Indeed, we call the nearest Sunday to the 11 November Remembrance Sunday or Poppy Sunday after the peace symbol which raises huge sums for charity via the Salvation Army Poppy Appeal.

In the UK the memorial services begin at 11.00 am with a minute’s silence.

  Poppy Appeal [Photo: Royal British Legion]

11.11 at 11.11

The exact moment of the signing of the Armistice by the Allies and the Germans was 11 minutes past 11 on 11 of November (the 11^th month).

In Germany “am elften Eften um elf Uhr elf” is the start of Fasching, a celebration of parades, open air concerts, dressing up and drinking and eating in public.

Signing of the Armistice, 11 November 1918 [Photo Wikipedia]

Me and Remembrance Day

I was involved in Remembrance Sunday from a young age. As a Cub Scout and then a Scout, my troop always turned out wearing our woggles, neckerchiefs and berets and proudly sporting the badges we had earned sown onto our tunics.

As an adult I would dress up in suit and tie and overcoat and scarf to attend church with my young family.

Me and Fasching

I’ve been in Germany for Fasching a handful of times. Two occasions stick in my mind.

The first was Stuttgart in 1972 whilst on my “Year Abroad”. Along I went, romantically unattached at the time, to an event in the city, where there were three female students from the same university as me (Salford) who were also working in the city.

Jac was the fiancé of my best friend Dan, so no chance there.

Jan was a very attractive redhead that I quite fancied, but I didn’t have a clue where to begin.

Brenda had been my girlfriend during the first part of our six months in Spain. Suddenly she dumped me unceremoniously for a local Spanish guy. I don’t think we have spoken since.

Not an evening I enjoyed very much, I have to say.

The second Fasching of note was in Cologne in 2007, when I visited my daughter Amy who was on her year abroad from Oxford, where she was studying German and English Literature.

We had a great time together. Quite by chance one of my favourite groups of the time, Londonbeat, was performing on one of the stages. It was great to see them live.

    Amy, 20 years on Chief Exec.Tutors United [LinkedIn]

Londonbeat [Photo and audio courtesy of You Tube]

Amy and I shifted some beer that night, but we had a great time and no hangovers the next day.

Probably down to the strict Reinheitsgebot (German Purity Laws) which all beers must adhere to.

Endnote

I’ve not been to Fasching since. Oktoberfest, yes, but that’s another story for another day …..

© The History Man

Links:

Londonbeat - I've Been Thinking About You (Special Extended Mix)

LINDOR, Fúndete de placer – 6s - Londonbeat's 25 greatest hits

Acknowledgements:

LinkedIn

Royal British Legion

YouTube

Wikipedia

Tags:

11 November, 1918, Allies,“am elften Eften um elf Uhr elf”,  Amy, Armistice, badges, berets, British and Commonwealth troops, Cologne, Cub Scout, English Literature, Fasching, First World War, German, German Purity Laws, Germany, Londonbeat, memorial service, minute’s silence, neckerchiefs, Oktoberfest, Oxford, Poppy Sunday, Reinheitsgebot, Remembrance Sunday, Salvation Army Poppy Appeal, Scout, Stuttgart, The History Man, Tutors United, woggle

Sí, señor, it’s yet another bank holiday in Spain. This time it’s an important religious one, Día de la Asunción, commemorating the ascent of the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ, into Heaven.

Background

Whilst some días festivos are optional – it’s normally the comunidad autónoma, or region, that decides – 15 August is obligatory throughout the Spanish territory, ie the mainland; the two island groups, the Balearics and the Canary Islands; and the two enclaves in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla.

15 August was established as Día de la Asunción by Pope Pius XII in 1950, the year I was born.

This year, 2024, 15 August falls on a Thursday. This means that many workers will take the Friday off as a “puente”, with the agreement of their employers, of course. This makes for a long weekend with many Spanish families going away for 3 or 4 nights, to the coast or to the mountains.

Días festivos nacionales still to come in 2024

12 October                   Día de la Hispanidad

1 November                 Todos los Santos (All Saints)

6 December                 Día de la Constitución

25 December               Día de Navidad

© The History Man

Interesting reading:

Spain's forthcoming long 'bridge' holiday weekend - Secret Serrania de Ronda

Photos:

El Faro de Ceuta

SUR in English

Wikipedia

Tags:

1 November, 6 December, 12 October, 15 August, 25 December, All Saints, Balearics, bank holiday in Spain, Canary Islands, Ceuta, Día de la Asunción, Día de la Constitución, Día de la Hispanidad, Día de Navidad, día festivo, día festivo nacional, días festivos nacionales, El Faro de Ceuta, enclave, Heaven, Jesus Christ, Melilla, Pope Pius XII, puente, SUR in English, The History Man, Todos los Santos, Virgin Mary, Wikipedia

Some 36% of countries have had female heads of state or heads of government. Significant ones that come to mind are Margaret Thatcher, prime minister of the United Kingdom for 11 years; Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany for 16 years; Golda Meir, prime minister of Israel for five years; Indira Ghandi, India, 15 years; Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan, five years; Corazon Aquino, Philippines, six years; Mary Robinson, president of Ireland, seven years; Julia Gillard, Australia, three years; and Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Argentina, 12 years.

But none of these was the first. That honour goes to Sirimavo Bandaranaike who became prime minister of Ceylon, later Sri Lanka, in 1960. She took over from her husband who was assassinated. She served four terms, totalling 18 years.

Facts

36% of the world’s 195 nations, ie only about 70, have had a female head of government or head of state. 

The first was Sirimavo Bandaranaike who was elected prime minister of Ceylon, later Sri Lanka, in 1960.

In 1980 Vigdís Finnbogadóttir of Iceland became the first woman in the world to be elected head of state in a national election.

Of the 10 most populous countries, the United States, Russia, China, Mexico, and Nigeria had never elected a woman leader, although Claudia Sheinbaum was recently elected president of Mexico, and Kamala Harris is surely poised to be elected the first female president of the United States in November 2024.

Significant women leaders in Europe

The Iron Lady - Margaret Thatcher

Margaret “Mrs” Thatcher, daughter of a grocer, became leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party in 1975 and in 1979 she became the first ever woman prime minister of the United Kingdom.

She survived her potential demise after one term by declaring war on Argentina when that country invaded the disputed Falkland Islands (Las Malvinas), which the South American republic claimed was theirs, and still does, despite the archipelago being British since 1833.

Thatcher dismantled the welfare state; privatised rail and bus companies, and energy providers, ie electricity, gas and water; and was anti-Europe, although the UK remained a member of the Common Market, the European Union’s name at that time.

Mrs Thatcher, the Iron Lady, was ousted by her own party in 1990, to be replaced as PM by John Major.

“Mutti” – Angela Merkel

Angela Merkel grew up in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). She was effectively an “Ossie”, yet she became the dominant politician in the re-united Germany, ruling as chancellor for 16 years, from 2005 to 2021.

"Mutti" Merkel presided over a strong economy, the Deutsche Wirtschaftswunder (German Economic Miracle), although in her later years, her policy of opening Germany’s borders to refugees fleeing from Africa and Eastern Europe has tarnished her legacy.

Both these women leaders were admired around the world, less so within their own countries.

The future

Who will be the next woman to have a major impact in Europe?

Marine Le Pen, leader of the right-wing party National Rally (Rallye Nationale) in France appears to be a “busted flush”, after this summer’s general election, when in the second round of voting, the left and centre-left parties “ganged up on her”.

Giorgia Meloni is an Italian politician who has been prime minister of Italy since October 2022, the first woman to hold this position. She has led the right-wing populist Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d'Italia - FdI) political party since 2014.  Forbes magazine ranked Meloni as the fourth most powerful woman in the world in 2023. In 2024 she was listed among the most influential people in the world by Time magazine.

Gerardo Elorriaga, writing for Diario Sur on 28 July 2024, considered the above two women to be significant. Others he dismissed as largely irrelevant in terms of their likely impact on world politics.

He considered Thatcher and Merkel to have been massively important figures in European politics, and Indira Gandhi, Benazir Bhutto and Sheikh Hasina Wajed, in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh respectively.

                     Benazzir Bhutto                                              Indira Gandhi                                      Sheikh Hasina Wajed

Stop Press:  In the wake of the current civil unrest in Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina Wajed has been forced to resign. Her place has been taken by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, who heads an interim government.

Sources:

Diario Sur

Encyclopedia.com

New York Times

Wikipedia

Photographs:

Britannica

El Mundo

France24

Heroinas

Wikimujeres

Wikipedia

www.deutschland.de

Tags:

Angela Merkel, Benazir Bhutto, Britannica, Claudia Sheinbaum, Corazon Aquino, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Diario Sur, El Mundo, Encyclopedia, France24, Giorgia Meloni, Golda Meir, Heroinas, Indira Gandhi, Julia Gillard, Kamala Harris, Margaret Thatcher, Marine Le Pen, Mary Robinson, New York Times, Sheikh Hasina Wajed, Sirimavo Bandaranaike,  Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, Wikimujeres, Wikipedia, www.deutschland.de

There are an unprecedented number of general elections around the world scheduled for 2024. Among these were/are China, France, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, the UK, and the USA.

Foreword

Not all of these countries are democracies, eg China and Russia and, some might say, Hungary.

Of the western democracies, France, Italy, Spain, the UK and the USA are of particular interest. France is currently in the middle of theirs (they have two polling dates in their system); Spain has already had its general election, with an inconclusive result; the UK is going to the polls today, 4 July); and the USA has its elections in November.

Out of 20 countries in Europe, five have lurched/are lurching to the right, namely Austria, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain.

Is this a concern? I think not.

Austria is not an important player.

As a founder member of the original six countries that formed the Common Market, France is significant, but it’s looking like Marine Le Pen and her right-wing party, National Rallye, will not get into government as all the centre and left parties are allied against her.

Italy is another founder member of the Common Market, but the recently elected Giorgia Meloni is not so extreme as the parties of the Right bin other countries.

In the Dutch elections earlier this year, the right won, but did not gain sufficient seats to form a government. The Netherlands were also in at the start of the Common Market.

Spain has a socialist-led coalition government. The Partido Popular is not effective, and their leader Alberto Nuñex Feijoo is not charismatic. They have refused to join forces with Santiago Abascal’s extreme right party VOX. In my view, as a long-term resident of Spain, and a keen student of politics and history, this move to the right will not last. The three PP governments since Spain returned to democracy following the death of General Franco, have been poor.

Thursday 4^th July, 2024

Also Independence Day in the USA, today is the date of the British General Election. Opinion Polls have been telling us for weeks that the Labour Party, led by Sir Keir Starmer, will win with a massive majority, possibly sending the Conservative Party into oblivion. If, the Reform Party, previously, UKIP, led once again by Nigel Farage, takes votes from disgruntled Tories, it looks even worse for the governing party, led by Rishi Sunak, the party’s fifth leader in 14 years.

Since David (now Lord) Cameron foolishly agreed to hold a simple yes/no referendum on leaving the European Union, the party and its several governments has failed on so many fronts, that many Tory MPs will surely be relieved to no longer be in government, when they lose their “safe” seats today. Some have already announced that they are standing down, in order to avoid the embarrassment of defeat at the poll.

Thursday 4 July 2024, 11.00 pm

Polling stations in the UK have just closed. The official exit poll predicts a landslide for the Labour Party. Labour 410; Conservative 131; Liberal Democrats 61; Reform 13; SNP 10; Greens 2; others 23.

This is only a poll based on 130 constituencies, yet in the last five general elections, the exit poll has been uncannily accurate.

I’ve just got myself an ice-cream and am going to settle down to watch the first actual results come in …..

More later …..

Thursday 5 July 2024, 05.00 am

It’s six hours since polling stations closed, and the count started.

The state of play, at 05.45 am, as Rishi Sunak retains his seat, with 436 out of 650 results declared, is Labour 308; Conservative 67; Liberal Democrats 40; Reform 4; Green 4; others 14.

The Tories have lost a record 11 cabinet ministers namely Alex Chalk, Therese Coffey, David Davies, Oliver Dowden, Liam Fox, Gillian Keegan, Brandon Lewis, Johnny Mercer, Penny Mordaunt, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Grant Shapps.

I’m going to take a break – I need a cuppa and an early breakfast …..

Friday 5 July 2024, 06.00 am - Labour wins the 2024 General Election                                      

In the short time I was away in the kitchen Labour achieved the 326 seats it needed to win the election. Sir Keir Starmer is the new Prime Minister.

Friday 5 July 2024, 06.30 am

With results in from 550 seats – 100 to go – Labour has 373; Conservatives 91; Liberal Democrats 51; Reform 6; Green 5; others 24.

Friday 5 July 2024, 07.30 am

Labour reach 400 seats with just 34 still to declare.

Friday 5 July 2024, 12.00 noon

The mood in the UK is positive and hopeful following the momentous General Election on Thursday. With 649 of the 650 seats declared, it is clear that Labour has routed the Conservatives and has a massive majority in the House of Commons.

With one result to come, this is the situation:

Labour 412

Conservative 121

Liberal Democrat 71

Scottish National Party 9

Sinn Fein (N.Ireland) 7

Independent 6

Reform UK 5

Democratic Unionist Party (N. Ireland) 5

Green 4

Plaid Cymru (Wales) 4

others 5.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is round 2 of the French Elections. An alliance of left-wing parties is hoping to prevent the right-wing Rallye National winning a majority.

© The History Man

Sources:

Cornish Times

El Periodico

France 24

Google Imagenes

Independent

Reuters

SKY News "Election Night"

Wikipedia

Tags:

Alex Chalk, Brandon Lewis, Conservative, David Davies, general election, Gillian Keegan, Grant Shapps, Greens, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Johnny Mercer,Keir Starmer, Labour, Liam Fox, Liberal Democrat, Oliver Dowden, opinion poll, Penny Mordaunt, Reform, Rishi Sunak, SNP, Therese Coffey, vote, voting,

It came as a shock when, 10 years ago King Juan Carlos I, abdicated in favour of his son and heir to the Spanish throne.

"Why?" many asked, but it soon began to emerge that Juan Carlos, king since 1975 when the dictator Franco died, had been a naughty boy.

Meanwhile, his son Felipe VI, now aged 56, has been head of state for a decade. Amid recent speculation about the state of his marriage to Letizia, an Australian commoner, Felipe VI has been a model of integrity. When the truth about the corrupt behaviour of his father emerged, Felipe disowned his father, who has been living in exile for the last decade.

At his recent trial in London, Juan Carlos was found not guilty, yet there remain question marks about his integrity and his apparent wealth towards the end of his reign. "Hero to zero"  in just 25 years, for Juan Carlos played a huge role in converting Spain from a republican state back into a constitutional monarchy.

The previous king, Alfonso XIII, his grandfather, was forced into exile in the 1930s, effectively leaving Spain as a republic for some 45 years, even though he did not abdicate.

The ensuing provisional government evolved into the relatively short-lived Second Spanish Republic. The Spanish Civil War began in 1936 and ended on 1 April 1939 with the victory of General Francisco Franco and his coalition of allied organisations commonly referred to as the Nationalists. 

Franco appointed Juan Carlos I de Borbón as his successor, and it was the new king who was credited with presiding over Spain's transition from dictatorship to democracy by fully endorsing political reforms.

Impatient with the pace of democratic reforms, the new king, known for his formidable personality, dismissed Carlos Arias Navarro and appointed the reformer Adolfo Suárez as President of the Government in 1977.

In 1978 Spain was officially declared a constitutional monarchy once more after some 45 years as a republic. It remains so to this day. There is little desire in Spain to abolish the monarchy.

So, Felipe VI has been celebrating his decade on the throne, with Queen Letizia and their two daughters, Leonor, The Princess of Asturias, elder daughter of the King and heir to the throne, and The Infanta Sofía, younger daughter of the King.

© The History Man

For more information about the demise of Juan Carlos I, click here

Acknowledgements:

ABC

El Español

El Mundo

Paul Whitelock

Wikipedia

www.eyeonspain.com

Tags:

ABC, Adolfo Suárez, Alfonso XIII, Carlos Arias Navarro, constitutional monarchy, El Español, El Mundo, Felipe VI, Francisco Franco, head of state, heir to the throne, Infanta Sofía, Juan Carlos, Leonor, Nationalists, Paul Whitelock, Princess of Asturias, Queen Letizia, republic, Second Spanish Republic, Spanish Civil War, Wikipedia, www.eyeonspain.com

Gibraltar has been in in the news lately. As a British colony or protectorate, “The Rock” has been “in limbo” since the citizens of the United Kingdom (UK) voted to leave the European Union (EU) in 2016, and finally did so on 1 January four years later.

A Problem Resolved?

This meant that Spain had a border with a non-EU country for the first time since it joined the then European Economic Community (EEC) in 1986. The other states with borders to Spain, namely Portugal, France, and Andorra, are all still EU member states.

Talks have been taking place between the relevant politicians in Gibraltar, the UK, Spain and in Brussels in an attempt to come up with an agreement so that Gibraltar, La Línea and San Roque (both Spain) and the whole of the Campo de Gibraltar region benefit from closer collaboration.

On 12 April after a meeting of all parties, including Gibraltar’s first minister Fabian Picardo, the executive vice-president of the EU and the foreign secretaries of the UK and Spain, agreement on a way forward was reached.

According to the joint communiqué released, all that remains is to spell out in black and white the agreement which affects the airport, movement of goods and mobility of people.

“The devil is in the detail”, as they say in English. The future prosperity of the whole region is at stake.

© The History Man

Acknowledgements:

Pedro Garcia Vazquez (7TV)

Publicaciones del Sur

Ronda Semanal

Photos:

Britannica

Europa Sur

YouTube

Tags:

7TV, airport, Andorra, Brussels, Campo de Gibraltar, EEC, EU, European Economic Community, European Union, Fabian Picardo, first minister of Gibraltar, France, Gibraltar, History Man, mobility of people, movement of goods, Paul Whitelock, Pedro Garcia Vazquez, Portugal, Publicaciones del Sur, Ronda Semanal, San Roque, Spain, “The Rock”, UK, United Kingdom

By The History Man

Today is the 20^th anniversary of the 2004 Madrid train bombings (known in Spain as 11-M).

In the morning rush hour of Thursday 11 March 2004 a series of coordinated, almost simultaneous bombings against the Cercanías (commuter train system) of Madrid hit the Spanish capital, killing 193 people and injuring around 2,050. 

Overview

The bombings constituted the deadliest terrorist attack carried out in the history of Spain and the deadliest in Europe since Lockerbie in 1988. The attacks were carried out by individuals who opposed Spanish involvement in the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.

The attacks took place three days before Spain’s general elections were scheduled.

Controversy about the handling and representation of the bombings by the government arose, with Spain's two main political parties—the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) and the Partido Popular (PP)—accusing each other of concealing or distorting evidence for electoral reasons.

In the elections, on Sunday 14 March, Prime Minister José María Aznar’s Partido Popular was defeated. The PP leaders claimed evidence indicating the Basque separatist organisation ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna) was responsible for the bombings, while the opposition claimed that the PP was trying to prevent the public from knowing it had been an Islamist attack, which would be interpreted as the direct result of Spain's involvement in Iraq, an unpopular war which the government had entered without the approval of the Spanish Parliament.

The scale and precise planning of the attacks reactivated memories of the September 11 attacks on the Twin Towers in New York (9-11).

Following the Madrid attacks, there were nationwide demonstrations and protests demanding that the government "tell the truth." The prevailing opinion of political analysts is that the Aznar administration lost the general elections because of the handling and representation of the terrorist attacks, rather than because of the bombings per se.

Diary of an atrocity

During the peak of Madrid rush hour on the morning of Thursday, 11 March 2004, ten explosions occurred aboard four commuter trains (cercanías). The date, 11 March, led to the abbreviation of the incident as "11-M".

All the affected trains were travelling on the same line and in the same direction between Alcalá de Henares and the Atocha station in Madrid. It was later reported that thirteen improvised explosive devices (IEDs) had been placed on the trains. 

Bomb disposal teams (TEDAX) arriving at the scenes of the explosions detonated two of the remaining three IEDs in controlled explosions, but the third was not found until later in the evening, having been stored inadvertently with luggage taken from one of the trains. The following timeline of events comes from the judicial investigation.

All four trains had departed the Alcalá de Henares station between 07:01 and 07:14. The explosions took place between 07:37 and 07:40.

At 08:00, emergency relief workers began arriving at the scenes of the bombings. The police reported numerous victims and spoke of 50 wounded and several dead.

By 08:30 the emergency ambulance service, SAMUR (Servicio de Asistencia Municipal de Urgencia y Rescate), had set up a field hospital at the Daoiz y Velarde sports facility.

Later the death toll had risen to 193 confirmed dead victims, and around 2,050 injured. 

Personal recollections

I vividly remember that morning. I was in the middle of a residential education conference at Haydock Park Racecourse on Merseyside. On the morning of the bombings, I had just had breakfast when news of the atrocity broke.

In the course of watching the TV news and reading about it online, I broke down. I was weeping uncontrollably. Why?

A kindly primary headteacher I knew well asked me what was up. I told him. I was distraught. I couldn’t explain my reaction, other than that I had had a close relationship with Spain over many years, had been to Madrid a few times and knew the main station Atocha. It was all a bit too close to home.

He advised me to pull out of the conference and go home, which is what I did, eventually.

I attended the first session, but couldn’t concentrate, so took my leave at the coffee break.

With hindsight I’d had a nervous breakdown and the following week was sent on gardening leave with full pay.

There was turmoil within the education department I worked for (Sefton Council) and, fully unconnected with my breakdown, by Easter of the following year, I and a half a dozen other schools advisers had been made redundant and offered early retirement with access to our work pensions.

11-M aftermath

Back to the 11-M bombings in Madrid, the culprits were identified as Jihadi sympathisers, who, when discovered in an apartment building in a suburb of Madrid, blew themselves up. Later, other co-conspirators were identified, tried in court and gaoled.

So, today is a poignant anniversary. There has been blanket coverage in the Spanish Press, on TV and online.

It’s certainly an event I shall never forget.

© The History Man

Acknowledgements:

ABC

At the Races

Diario Sur

El Diario

Paul Whitelock

Racecourse hospitality

RTVE

Wikipedia

Tags:

9-11, 11-M, 11 March 2004, Alcalá de Henares, Atocha, bomb disposal, bombings, cercanías, Daoiz y Velarde, Diario Sur, early retirement​​​​​​​, gardening leave, Haydock Racecourse, History Man, IEDs, improvised explosive devices, Iraq, Jihadi, José María Aznar, Lockerbie, Madrid, Merseyside, nervous breakdown, PP, PSOE, Paul Whitelock, prime minister, redundant, SAMUR, Sefton Council, Servicio de Asistencia Municipal de Urgencia y Rescate, TEDAX, Wikipedia

By Paul Whitelock

International Women's Day is celebrated annually on 8 March as a focal point in the women’s rights movement. IWD gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women.

Spurred on by the universal female suffrage movement, IWD originated from labour movements in North America and Europe during the early 20th century. 

The earliest version reported was a "Women’s Day" organised by the Socialist Party of America in New York City on 28 February , 1909. 

This inspired German delegates at the 1910 International Socialist Women’s Conference to propose "a special Women's Day" be organised annually. 

The following year saw the first demonstrations and commemorations of International Women's Day across Europe.

After the Russian Revolution in 1917, IWD was made a national holiday on March 8; it was subsequently celebrated on that date by the socialist movement and communist countries. 

To start with the holiday was associated with far-left movements and governments until its adoption by the global feminist movement in the late 1960s. 

IWD became a mainstream global holiday following its promotion by the United Nations in 1977. International Women's Day is a public holiday in several countries. The UN observes the holiday in connection with a particular issue, campaign, or theme in women's rights. 

Whilst IWD is not an official holiday in most countries of Europe, it is celebrated nonetheless. 

Several countries, including Uruguay, Spain, Italy, France and Algeria, have squares or other public spaces named after 8 March in reference to International Women's Day. 

The theme for 2024 is:

Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress.

© Paul Whitelock

With thanks to:

Wikipedia for information and photos.

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8 March, abuse against women, communist, feminist, gender equality, female suffrage, IWD, International Socialist Women’s Conference, International Women's Day, Invest in Women, Paul Whitelock, reproductive rights, Russian Revolution, socialist, Socialist Party of America, United Nations, violence, "Women’s Day", women's rights,

By The History Man

A leap year is a calendar year that contains an additional day compared to a common year. The 366th day is added to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical year or seasonal year. Since astronomical events and seasons do not repeat in a whole number of days, calendars having a constant number of days each year will unavoidably drift over time with respect to the event that the year is supposed to track, such as seasons. By inserting an additional day—a leap day—into some years, the drift between a civilization's dating system and the physical properties of the Solar System can be corrected.

History

An astronomical year lasts slightly less than 3651/4 days. The historic Julian calendar has three common years of 365 days followed by a leap year of 366 days, by extending February to 29 days rather than the common 28.

The Gregorian calendar, the world's most widely used civil calendar, makes a further adjustment for the small error in the Julian algorithm. Each leap year has 366 days instead of 365. This extra leap day occurs in each year that is a multiple of 4 (except for years evenly divisible by 100, but not by 400).

The term leap year probably comes from the fact that a fixed date in the Gregorian calendar normally advances one day of the week from one year to the next, but the day of the week in the 12 months following the leap day (from 1 March through 28 February of the following year) will advance two days due to the extra day, thus leaping over one day in the week.

For example, Christmas Day (25 December) fell on a Friday in 2020, Saturday in 2021, Sunday in 2022, and Monday in 2023, but then will "leap" over Tuesday to fall on a Wednesday in 2024.

Leap years can present a problem in computing, known as the leap year bug, when a year is not correctly identified as a leap year or when 29 February is not handled correctly in logic that accepts or manipulates dates.

Julian Calendar

On 1 January 45 BC, by edict, Julius Caesar reformed the historic Roman calendar to make it a consistent solar calendar (rather than one which was neither strictly lunar nor strictly solar), thus removing the need for frequent intercalary months.

His rule for leap years was a simple one: add a leap day every four years. This algorithm is close to reality: a Julian year lasts 365.25 days, a mean tropical year about 365.2422 days. Consequently, even this Julian calendar drifts out of 'true' by about three days every 400 years. The Julian calendar continued in use unaltered for about 1600 years until the Catholic Church became concerned about the widening divergence between the March Equinox and 21 March.

Prior to Caesar's creation of what would be the Julian calendar, February was already the shortest month of the year for Romans. In the Roman calendar all months except February had an odd number of days – 29 or 31. This was because of a Roman superstition that 'even numbers' were unlucky. When Caesar changed the calendar to follow the solar year closely, he made all months have 30 or 31 days, leaving February unchanged except in leap years.

Gregorian Calendar

In the Gregorian calendar, the standard calendar in most of the world, almost every fourth year is a leap year. Each leap year, the month of February has 29 days instead of 28. Adding one extra day in the calendar every four years compensates for the fact that a period of 365 days is shorter than a tropical year by almost 6 hours. However, this correction is excessive and the Gregoirian reform modified the Julian calendar's scheme of leap years as follows:

Every year that is exactly divisible by four is a leap year, except for years that are exactly divisible by 100, but these centurial years are leap years if they are exactly divisible by 400. For example, the years 1700, 1800, and 1900 are not leap years, but the years 1600 and 2000 are.

Whereas the Julian calendar year incorrectly summarized Earth's tropical year as 365.25 days, the Gregorian calendar makes these exceptions to follow a calendar year of 365.2425 days. This more closely resembles a mean tropical year of 365.2422 days. Over a period of four centuries, the accumulated error of adding a leap day every four years amounts to about three extra days. The Gregorian calendar therefore omits three leap days every 400 years, which is the length of its leap cycle.

This is done by omitting 29 February in the three century years (multiples of 100) that are not multiples of 400. The years 2000 and 2400 are leap years, but not 1700, 1800, 1900, 2100, 2200 and 2300.

So, today is a Leap Day.

Unfair?

There is an important anomaly when it comes to salaries, wages, pay and pensions.  In effect salaried workers and wage-earners work for free today. And pensioners don't work and don't get paid for today. Since they earn a weekly wage, a monthly salary, or get paid a pension monthly, their 'remuneration' is unchanged by the extra day they have to work..

Hourly-paid workers and those in the gig economy or black economy, however, get paid for the extra day in full.

© The History Man

Acknowledgements (Photos):

Facebook

Geocaching

India Times

Mint

Utkarsh Classes

Wikipedia

YouTube

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28 February, 29 February, astronomical year, black economy, Caesar, gig economy, Gregorian calendar, intercalary months, Julian calendar, Julius Caesar, Leap Day, Leap Year, March Equinox, monthly salary, Pope Gregory, Roman calendar, salaried workers,seasonal year, Solar calendar, Solar System, tropical year, wage-earners, weekly wage