Franco dictatorship

Spanish State (1939–1947) Kingdom of Spain (1947–1975)
Estado Español Reino de España
1936–1975
Flag Coat of arms
Motto Una, Grande y Libre "One, Great and Free"
Anthem Marcha Granadera "Grenadier March"
Territories and colonies of the Spanish State:   Spain, Sahara and Guinea      Protectorate of Morocco        International Zone of Tangier
Capital		Burgos (1936–1939) Madrid (1939–1975)
Languages		Spanish (official; sole legal language)
Religion		Roman Catholicism
Government		Francoist one-party dictatorship de jure monarchy (1947-)
Caudillo
•	1936–1975	Francisco Franco
Prime Minister
•	1936	Miguel Cabanellas (first)
•	1938–1973	Francisco Franco
•	1973–1975	Carlos A. Navarro (last)
Legislature		Cortes Españolas
Historical era		Interwar period / Cold War
•	Spanish Civil War	1936–1939
•	Establishment	1 October 1936
•	Republic exiled	1 April 1939
•	Law of Succession	6 July 1947
•	Joined the United Nations	14 December 1955
•	Ifni War	23 Oct 1957 – 30 Jun 1958
•	Death of Franco	20 November 1975
Area
•	1940	796,030 km2 (307,350 sq mi)
Population
•	1940 est.	25,877,971
Density		33/km2 (84/sq mi)
•	1975 est.	35,563,535
Density		45/km2 (116/sq mi)
Currency		Spanish peseta
Preceded by Succeeded by Second Spanish Republic Spain Morocco Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Equatorial Guinea
a. Formally, Franco was titled "Caudillo de España, Por la Gracia de Dios" and was de facto the leader of Spain.

"Francoist Spain" (also historically "Nationalist Spain" during the Spanish Civil War) refers to the period of Spanish history between 1939, when Francisco Franco took control of Spain from the government of the Second Spanish Republic after winning the Civil War, and 1978, when the Spanish Constitution of 1978 went into effect. It is the opinion of several historians that during the Spanish Civil War, Franco's goal was to turn Spain into a totalitarian state based on fascism like Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. However, its entry into the war on the Axis side was prevented largely, as was much later revealed, by British Secret Intelligence Service (MI-6) efforts that included up to $200 million in bribes for Spanish officials to keep the regime from getting involved. Franco was also able to take advantage of the resources of the Axis Powers and chose to avoid becoming heavily involved in the Second World War. Franco's regime evolved into a more classic autocratic regime.

The Spanish Civil War started as a coup by the Spanish military on the peninsula (peninsulares) and in Spanish Morocco (africanistas) on July 17, 1936. The coup had the support of most factions sympathetic to the right-wing cause in Spain, including the majority of Spain's Catholic clergy, the fascist-inclined Falange, and the Alfonsine and Carlist monarchists. The coup escalated into a civil war lasting for three years once Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany agreed to support Franco, starting with airlifting of the africanistas onto the mainland. Other supporters included Portugal's Estado Novo regime under António de Oliveira Salazar, while the presentation of the Civil War as a "crusade" or renewed reconquista attracted the sympathy of Catholics internationally and the participation of Irish Catholic volunteers. Although the government of the United Kingdom was more sympathetic to the Francoists while the Popular Front government of France was anxious to support the Republic, both factions observed the non-intervention agreement of October 1936. The Second Spanish Republic was backed by the Stalinist Soviet Union and Mexico, at the time the Soviet Union's only ideological ally aside from the Mongolian People's Republic, from December 1936, but the help was much less than that provided to Nationalist Spain.