The World In Protest, Revolution or Civil War? Part Seven
This was first published in early 2012.
"Polarization of the Spanish Civil War" Part 2
The Spanish constitution for the new republic was adopted in late 1931 and it was an attempt to right all "perceived" wrongs in Spanish society from throughout their long history. It was too much all at one time.* The new document attempted to make Spain dramatically more secular and independent of the Roman Catholic Church, as it mandated public education, banned the Jesuits, and prohibited other religious orders from teaching in the new public school system. Further, it set up secular procedures for marriage (it had been a province of the Church), and even for divorce (a major Church "no, no" in those times), and it nationalized the extensive Church properties, requiring the Church to pay rent to the government.** It also gave women the right to vote. Such fundamental change brought an immediate, and passionate, backlash. Further, the constitution provided for government confiscation of private property for the public good, although the owners were to be compensated. This alienated the large landowners, placing them against the republic.***
*What happened in Spain had not actually been a revolution, in the Bolshevik sense. Revolutionaries didn't take over the government and the government then didn't take over everything and execute or arrest enemies, real or imagined. The constitution provided for free elections and democracy (although staunch Catholics would argue otherwise, with some justification), and democracy can be contentious and messy, to put it mildly. To try to push such dramatic change onto Spanish society so quickly in a democratic nation was bound to have political consequences.
** While today some of the provisions would not be seen as terribly radical, back then, for a nation steeped in rigid Catholicism, these major changes, and their inclusion as part of the new republic, were bound to bring determined opposition, as many devout Catholics turned against the republic. Even some marginal religionists were not supportive of the new measures. The Pope (Pius XI) condemned the measures. It is probably not an exaggeration to say, these anti-Church measures went a long way toward the later outbreak of civil war.
*** There was an enormous gap between the "haves" and "have nots" in Spanish society, but just as with Church matters, many viewed the remedies as going too far and too fast. The landed segment of society (and the Church) had been protected by the monarchist government for centuries, and the new constitution suddenly turned the government from protector into a potential adversary. The land reforms were not pursued with great vigor (there was not much money available to pay for the land); consequently, the republic made enemies of the landowners just for having the policies, and the republic didn't appease the peasantry, the intended beneficiaries of the reforms.
WORD HISTORY:
Bead-The meaning of this word has changed dramatically over time, although the initial change makes the connection to its original meaning. It "seems" to go back to Indo European "bheudh," which had the meaning "request, ask;" thus also, "pray." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "bidjan/bithjan," also with the meaning "request, pray." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "biddan," a verb form with the same meaning, and the derived noun "gebed," meaning "prayer."^ By about the 1300s, the "ge" prefix had disappeared, leaving "bedu," then "bede," but the meaning had shifted to the specific "prayer bead, rosary bead."^^ Later still, the religious aspect was often lost, as the word came to be applied to many small round objects. Other Germanic languages have (all still meaning "prayer"): German has "Gebet;" some Low German dialect has "Jebäd;" Low German Saxon has "Beet," Frisian and Dutch have "gebed." The North Germanic languages have forms without the "t" or "d" sounds; Swedish "bön," for example, but whether these are related to "bead," I'm not really certain.
^ There were spelling/pronunciation variations of "biddan."
^^ English had borrowed the word "prayer" (a Latin derived word), which displaced the native word with that meaning, "gebed," ancestor of "bead."
"Polarization of the Spanish Civil War" Part 2
The Spanish constitution for the new republic was adopted in late 1931 and it was an attempt to right all "perceived" wrongs in Spanish society from throughout their long history. It was too much all at one time.* The new document attempted to make Spain dramatically more secular and independent of the Roman Catholic Church, as it mandated public education, banned the Jesuits, and prohibited other religious orders from teaching in the new public school system. Further, it set up secular procedures for marriage (it had been a province of the Church), and even for divorce (a major Church "no, no" in those times), and it nationalized the extensive Church properties, requiring the Church to pay rent to the government.** It also gave women the right to vote. Such fundamental change brought an immediate, and passionate, backlash. Further, the constitution provided for government confiscation of private property for the public good, although the owners were to be compensated. This alienated the large landowners, placing them against the republic.***
*What happened in Spain had not actually been a revolution, in the Bolshevik sense. Revolutionaries didn't take over the government and the government then didn't take over everything and execute or arrest enemies, real or imagined. The constitution provided for free elections and democracy (although staunch Catholics would argue otherwise, with some justification), and democracy can be contentious and messy, to put it mildly. To try to push such dramatic change onto Spanish society so quickly in a democratic nation was bound to have political consequences.
** While today some of the provisions would not be seen as terribly radical, back then, for a nation steeped in rigid Catholicism, these major changes, and their inclusion as part of the new republic, were bound to bring determined opposition, as many devout Catholics turned against the republic. Even some marginal religionists were not supportive of the new measures. The Pope (Pius XI) condemned the measures. It is probably not an exaggeration to say, these anti-Church measures went a long way toward the later outbreak of civil war.
*** There was an enormous gap between the "haves" and "have nots" in Spanish society, but just as with Church matters, many viewed the remedies as going too far and too fast. The landed segment of society (and the Church) had been protected by the monarchist government for centuries, and the new constitution suddenly turned the government from protector into a potential adversary. The land reforms were not pursued with great vigor (there was not much money available to pay for the land); consequently, the republic made enemies of the landowners just for having the policies, and the republic didn't appease the peasantry, the intended beneficiaries of the reforms.
WORD HISTORY:
Bead-The meaning of this word has changed dramatically over time, although the initial change makes the connection to its original meaning. It "seems" to go back to Indo European "bheudh," which had the meaning "request, ask;" thus also, "pray." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "bidjan/bithjan," also with the meaning "request, pray." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "biddan," a verb form with the same meaning, and the derived noun "gebed," meaning "prayer."^ By about the 1300s, the "ge" prefix had disappeared, leaving "bedu," then "bede," but the meaning had shifted to the specific "prayer bead, rosary bead."^^ Later still, the religious aspect was often lost, as the word came to be applied to many small round objects. Other Germanic languages have (all still meaning "prayer"): German has "Gebet;" some Low German dialect has "Jebäd;" Low German Saxon has "Beet," Frisian and Dutch have "gebed." The North Germanic languages have forms without the "t" or "d" sounds; Swedish "bön," for example, but whether these are related to "bead," I'm not really certain.
^ There were spelling/pronunciation variations of "biddan."
^^ English had borrowed the word "prayer" (a Latin derived word), which displaced the native word with that meaning, "gebed," ancestor of "bead."
Labels: Catholicism, English, etymology, Germanic languages, socialism, Spain, Spanish Civil War, Spanish Republic
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