Apologies from the Alt World Team

Sorry From The Team

Harry and I would like to apologize from our absence from the blog. We have been trying to keep up with schooling, and life in general. I have been trying to make our debut on YouTube to promote the blog. 

We are dedicated to you, our small community of followers and readers, and wish you get the best Alternate World((s), when we complete this current one).

As a follow-up to the apology, I will be telling you how things are going from now on, we will go event-wise, and then add on the biographies of Alternate countries connected to the event (In separate posts and until the time of the event).

And that is Today's Post, Tomorrow's will be about...{I dont want to spoil it for you, just wait until tomorrow ;) }

The Great Spanish Civil War Part 1

The Great Spanish Civil War began in July 1773 after years of rising tension in Spain. It lasted three years with fighting in almost every part of the country. By the end of it, Spain no longer existed as a single unified nation and foreign powers occupied various parts of the country for 'peacekeeping reasons'.

The reason for the Great Spanish Civil War is still debated to this day but many believe it was due to the effect the American War of Independence had on the Spanish population combined with the unrest left over from the War of the Spanish Succession earlier in the century. Spain had chosen to take the side of the American separatists in the American War of Independence and found itself supporting a radical republican nation. Spain had previously been a conservative nation with strong support for the monarchy but the War of the Spanish Succession at the turn of the century damaged support for the crown and driven a wedge into the Spanish population. Spain was now a haven of ideologies and beliefs, with many believing that Spain was following an archaic system by having an absolute monarchy. Spain also faced growing separatist movements with the Crown of Aragon, Galicia and the Basque Country striving for independence. The Kingdom of Spain, now ruled by the Bourbons after the War of the Spanish Succession, refused to grant these provinces independence, instead sending more troops to the regions to deter revolt. This only angered the regions further and they refused to accept Spanish rule, declaring independence and forming an alliance. Thus began the Great Spanish Civil War.

Originally, the belligerents in the war were almost entirely Spanish.  The separatist regions of the Basque Country, Aragon and Galicia sided with the republican movement in Spain against the Spanish Monarchy. The Spanish Monarchy believed that it could crush resistance in the regions easily but found many troops deserting and a large percentage of the population up in arms against them. Spain looked to France for support, both nations were ruled by Bourbons and France was willing to lend support to its ally. French troops moved into Aragon and the Basque Country in an attempt to restore order. However, at this time, the United Kingdom of England and Portugal took an interest in the affairs of the Great Spanish Civil War. England and Portugal had already seized control of Gibraltar and had fought against the Bourbon monarchy in the War of the Spanish Succession. England and Portugal took this as a chance to seize even more ground that had belonged to their old enemies, Spain and France. England and Portugal officially joined the war in January 1774, invading Galicia and Southern Spain and refusing to assist either side in the war. England and Portugal were able to rapidly expand into Spain but the harsh terrain and fierce resistance put up by both sides slowed the advance to a crawl in August 1774. France and the Spanish Monarchy continued to battle in Aragon and the Basque Country against separatists and republicans, at first with great success but the England and Portuguese invasion in the west drew royalist troops from the Aragon Front to the Western Front.