On this day, 17 July 1936, a Spanish military uprising began in Morocco as right wing generals declared war on the new Republican government. In Barcelona workers began to respond as members of the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo union seized 200 rifles from the holds of two ships docked in the harbour and distributed them to union activists. These events marked the beginning of the Spanish civil war - and full-scale social revolution would break out in the coming days.
Our latest podcast gives an overview of the conflict: https://workingclasshistory.com/2020/06/17/e39-the-spanish-civil-war-an-introduction/
Pictured: CNT militia in Barcelona https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1477308172454328/?type=3