Famine in Spain During Franco's Dictatorship, 1939–52

Bibliographic Data

ID10076490
AuthorsMiguel Ángel Del Arco Blanco (0000-0002-6206-8209, Universidad de Granada, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume56
Issue1
Pages3-27
Publication date2020-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Contemporary History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-0094 • E-ISSN: 1461-7250
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0022009419876004
OpenAlexW3109439063
LanguageEN
Citations received13
References cited2

In the aftermath of civil war, Spain witnessed a period known as the ‘Years of Hunger’, which would extend throughout the postwar years (1939–52). The dictatorship would lay the blame on external factors, although the causes for the collapse of living conditions and food supply over that time lay in its autarkic policies. This article attempts to show that Spain was victim of a famine as a consequence of the economic policies of the Franco dictatorship. To analyse the Spanish case, we rely on the conceptual framework of famine studies throughout history. We will demonstrate that Spain suffered an extreme socio-economic crisis during the 1940s, but that it was not until late 1939 and 1942, as well as 1946, that a true famine took place. In order to characterise and explain it, we will analyse three different aspects: the rise in the cost of living, the spread of infectious diseases and death by starvation

Blame · Democracy · Development economics · Dictatorship · Economic history · Economics · Economy · Famine · Order (exchange · Period (music · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Spanish Civil War · Starvation · History · Insurance, Mortality, Demography, Risk Management · Law · Medicine and Dermatology Studies History · Philosophy

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