The Spanish civil war and the Mediterranean

Abstract

The Spanish Civil War occurred at a time when the British navy considered itself insufficiently strong to fight Italy in the Mediterranean while defending Britain's widespread empire. Italy was rearming and resented Britain's refusal to consider Italian rights in the Mediterranean or to recognize its conquest of Abyssinia. The Spanish Civil War gave Italy the chance to support a right‐wing regime which would comply with the Italian interests in the Mediterranean, to challenge the security of British and French sea routes, and to inflict damage on British power and prestige. Though Britain in the end did not permit the Italian navy to dominate the entire Mediterranean, it could not prevent the risk of dominance in the western part. The sea route to Republican Spain became increasingly hazardous and by 1938 the Spanish Republic was effectively blocked, which was an important factor in its defeat.