An IB History Higher Level essay produced for the Internal Assessment part of the course. Discusses Britain's neutrality in the Spanish Civil War. Written in compliance with the required structure. Received a mark of 23/25 (overall 7).
How neutral was Great Britain in the Spanish
Civil War, 1936-39?
Alexander Clark (000168-017)
International College Spain
Session: May 2011
1993 words
1
,Alexander Clark 000168-017
Contents
Part A - Plan of Investigation............................................................................................................1
Part B - Summary of Evidence..........................................................................................................2
Part C - Evaluation of Sources..........................................................................................................6
Part D - Analysis.................................................................................................................................8
Part E - Conclusion..........................................................................................................................12
Part F - List Of Sources...................................................................................................................13
Appendix A - International Brigades & Public Opinion..............................................................15
1
, Alexander Clark 000168-017
Part A - Plan of Investigation
This investigation aims to establish the nature of British military, diplomatic and economic
involvement in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-39. Support to either the Nationalists or Republicans
will be researched, particularly regarding strategic and commercial interests. The focus is on the
British government’s attitude to the war, fears of crisis escalation, the perceived Communist threat
and the need to protect British businesses and strategic bases 1. Past alliances, the Non-Intervention
Committee and German, Italian and Russian involvement in Spain will be examined. Non-
governmental organisations, the International Brigades and public opinion will not be considered,
but are dealt with in Appendix A (p.15).
Primary sources include eyewitness accounts, documentation and contemporary political
commentary. Academic accounts, documentary footage and web sources are available in Spanish
and English. Source selection will be based on academic credibility, strength of argument, relevance
and corroboration with other sources. Bias in primary sources will taken into account.
Britain’s attitude to the war is an area of historical controversy - extreme views are still defended
(particularly among Spanish historians) and revisionist interpretations are still surfacing. The war
had immense ramifications for Spain and Europe in the years preceding the Second World War. The
range of interpretations demonstrates the subjectivity of discussion on the Civil War, and justifies
thorough investigation.
1 Namely, Gibraltar and Malta.
1
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