5. The Spanish Economy During Great War and Interwar Years (1914–1936)

Spain escaped the Great War. It was a neutral country. Internal opinion and elites were too much divided between the two blocks to take any decision. This real neutrality, in a very good geostrategic situation, provided many opportunities as well as losses. The immediate post-war years were a major distributive struggle between classes, sectors and regions. Once it was settled, interwar years—both the 1920s and the early 1930s—were quite different to most Western European countries precisely because of a better heritage from the Great War. The 1920s were booming and the Great Depression was less dramatic than in many other big economies. On the contrary, Spain could not enjoy the economic recovery of the late 1930s as it entered into a devastating Civil War.