El tràfic d'armes durant la Guerra Civil Espanyola

Abstract

In this paper I will discuss the arms trafficking during the Spanish Civil War. This conflict pitted the legitimate government of Spain, the Second Spanish Republic, against a military coup that failed and thereafter declared war against the aforementioned Republic. It lasted from July the 17th, 1936, up to April the 1st, 1939. Because none of the warring sides expected a war of such scale, they were soon pressed to find supplies in the international market, and because of the very complex and delicate political landscape, both were in a situation of dire isolation. Nevertheless, despite official commitment to not intervene in the war, many different nations, institutions and individuals would find themselves before a business opportunity they just couldn't refuse, this would result in a very complex, albeit extremely interesting cumulus of commercial deals that were, more often than not, performed outside the boundaries of orthodox law in very ingenious ways. I will be taking a look at some of the most representative displays of such activities as I try to answer some questions regarding the Spanish Civil War. Who sold arms to which side? How did they evade the law in doing so? What kind of arms were sold? Under what terms? What side got the best conditions? Some of these questions and more I will try and tackle for the duration of this paper.