April 14, 1931: The Second Spanish Republic is proclaimed, after King Alfonso XIII is deposed. It was hoped that Spain would be a democratic nation like America, Britain and France.
The Republic lasted just 8 years.
The First Spanish Republic did not last long, only from the abdication of King Amadeo I on February 11, 1873, following the Third Carlist War, to December 29, 1874, when a military coup deposed it, and put King Alfonso XII, son of Amadeo's predecessor, Queen Isabella II, on the throne.
Alfonso died on November 25, 1885, leaving a pregnant widow, Maria Christina, who had been a Princess of Austria. On May 17, 1886, she gave birth to a son, who was proclaimed King Alfonso XIII. He was just 11 years old when the Spanish-American War began, and his mother was his Regent, so it was impossible for the American newspapers and their "yellow journalism" to make either of them a figure of hate, so the government as a whole became the enemy.
It cannot be said that Alfonso XIII, who assumed full duties upon turning 16 in 1902, had "lost the empire": It had been falling apart since Britain defeated the Armada in 1588, and the process accelerated with the losses of most of the American colonies in the 1810s and 1820s. But corruption in the parliament, the dictatorial tendencies of most of Spain's Prime Ministers, and the ineffectuality of the King led to their overthrow.
Alfonso survived the influenza epidemic of 1918. Because Spain did not enter World War I and remained neutral, his illness was reported on, and the disease became known as the Spanish Flu. Most of the world suppressed news of the disease in their own countries as best they could, even though it killed twice as many people as the war did.
After the proclamation of the Republic, a provisional government was established, until December 9, 1931, at which time the 1931 Constitution was approved. Over the next 2 years of constitutional government, known as the Reformist Biennium, Prime Minister Manuel Azaña initiated numerous reforms. Power in Spain had long been shared by the crown and the Catholic Church. In 1932, religious orders were forbidden control of schools, while the government began a large-scale school-building project. A moderate agrarian reform was carried out. Home rule was granted to Catalonia, withe a parliament and a President of its own.
Soon, Azaña lost parliamentary support and President Niceto Alcalá-Zamora forced his resignation on September 8, 1933. In the subsequent election, the Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right (CEDA) won a plurality. However, the President declined to invite its leader, Gil Robles, to form a government, fearing CEDA's monarchist sympathies. Instead, he invited Alejandro Lerroux of the Radical Republican Party to do so.
The period following the CEDA's victory, called the Black Biennium, was marked by escalating clashes between the left and the right,and state-sanctioned repression against the left. The CEDA exercised indirect influence over the government, and in October 1934 was finally successful in forcing the acceptance of three ministries.
In 1935, after a series of crises and corruption scandals, Alcalá-Zamora called for new elections, instead of inviting CEDA, the party with most seats in the parliament, to form a new government. The leftist Popular Front won a narrow victory in the February 13, 1936 election. The Right accelerated its preparations for a coup, which had been months in the planning.
Amidst the wave of political violence that broke out after the triumph of the Popular Front, a group of leftist militiamen shot José Calvo Sotelo, 1st Duke of Calvo Sotelo, one of the leaders of the opposition, on July 12, 1936. He died the next day. This assassination convinced many military officers to back the planned coup. On July 17, the revolt began with an army uprising in Spanish Morocco, followed by military takeovers in many cities in Spain. Military rebels intended to seize power immediately, but they were met with serious resistance as most of the main cities remained loyal to the Republic.
An estimated total of half a million people died in the war that followed. But most of the world considered the Republic to be Communist, and the democracies of the world, especially those with large Catholic populations, such as America, refused to stop the Fascist takeover by Generalissimo Francisco Franco.
King Alfonso XIII of Spain died on February 28, 1941. The Kings of Cambodia and Thailand would also die in 1941. Shortly before his death, Alfonso abdicated his claim to the throne, in favor of his son Juan, Count of Barcelona. Juan would eventually renounce his claim in favor of his son. When dictator Francisco Franco died in 1975, the grandson of Alfonso XIII became King Juan Carlos I. He is still alive, but has abdicated in favor of his own son, King Felipe VI.
Although Manuel Azaña had been arrested, his death in 1940 was due to natural causes. Niceto Alcalá-Zamora died in 1949.
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April 14, 1931 was a Thursday. The Stanley Cup was awarded, as the Montreal Canadiens successfully defended their title. They beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 2-0 at the Montreal Forum, to win the Finals, 3 games to 2.
Football was out of season. Professional basketball barely existed. And these baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-3 at Yankee Stadium. Red Ruffing outpitched Wilcy Moore, each man having previously pitched for the other team. Babe Ruth went 2-for-3 with a home run. Lou Gehrig went 1-for-4.
* The New York Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 9-5 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. Mel Ott went 2-for-4 with a home run and 2 RBIs. Bill Terry went 1-for-4 with a walk. Chuck Klein went 2-for-5 with 2 homers and 3 RBIs.
* The Brooklyn Dodgers -- in their last season with Wilbert Robinson as manager, and thus with the Brooklyn Robins name -- lost to the Boston Braves,
* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Washington Senators, 5-3 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Jimmie Foxx singled home the winning run in the top of the 11th inning, making Lefty Grove the winning pitcher in relief of Rube Walberg.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-4 at League Park in Cleveland.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-3 at Redland Field (later renamed Crosley Field) in Cincinnati.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Rogers Hornsby went 1-for-4 for the Cubs. Gabby Hartnett hit a home run. For the Pirates, Pie Traynor went 0-for-3 with a walk, Paul Waner went 0-for-4, but had an RBI on a groundout; and Lloyd Waner went 2-for-3 with a walk.
* And the St. Louis Browns beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-3 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.
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