José Sanjurjo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
José Sanjurjo
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Sanjurjo c. 1928–1932
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| Nickname(s) | "El León del Rif" (The Lion of the Rif) |
| Born | 28 March 1872 Pamplona, Navarra, Spain |
| Died | 20 July 1936 (aged 64) Cascais, Portugal |
| Buried |
Panteón de Regulares número 2, Cementerio Municipal de la Purísima Concepción, Melilla, Spain
(35°18′02″N 2°56′21″W / 35.300667°N 2.939141°W) |
| Allegiance |
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Spanish Army |
| Years of service | 1896–1932 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Battles/wars | Cuban War of Independence Spanish–American War Rif War (1909) Rif War (1920) Spanish Civil War |
| Awards | Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand Order of Charles III |
José Sanjurjo y Sacanell (Spanish: [saŋˈxuɾxo]; 28 March 1872 – 20 July 1936) was a Spanish general. He was one of the military leaders who planned a coup d'état (a sudden takeover of the government) in July 1936. This event marked the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.
In 1927, he was given the special title "Marquis of the Rif."
Sanjurjo was a monarchist, meaning he supported having a king or queen rule Spain. He was against the Second Spanish Republic, which was a government without a king, set up in 1931. In August 1932, he led his own coup d'état, known as the Sanjurjada. However, the government quickly stopped this attempt. Sanjurjo was first sentenced to death, but this was changed to life in prison. Later, in 1934, he was set free by the government of Alejandro Lerroux.
While living in Portugal, he joined other military leaders in planning the 1936 coup d'état. Many expected Sanjurjo to become the main leader of the group trying to overthrow the government, known as the Nationalists. However, just three days after the war began, he died in a plane crash while flying back to Spain. He chose to fly in a small, overloaded plane because the pilot was a friend. Some people thought it might have been sabotage, but this was never proven.
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Early Life and Military Beginnings
José Sanjurjo was born in Pamplona, a city in Spain. His father, Justo Sanjurjo Bonrostra, was a captain and supported a group called the Carlists.
Sanjurjo began his military career serving in Cuba in 1896 during the Cuban War of Independence. He also fought in the Rif War (1909) and the Rif War (1920) in Morocco. During the Rif War, he helped take back land near Melilla that had been lost in 1921.
In 1922, he was asked to look into problems with corruption in the army in Larache. He became the High Commissioner of Spain in Morocco, which was a very important position, and rose to the rank of lieutenant general. In 1925, he took part in a major landing by sea at Alhucemas. After the Rif War ended in 1920, King Alfonso XIII honored him with a special award called the Gran Cruz de Carlos III in 1931. In 1928, he became the chief of the Civil Guard, a national police force.
Sanjurjo and the Second Republic
In 1923, Miguel Primo de Rivera took control of Spain as a dictator. When Primo de Rivera resigned in 1930, King Alfonso XIII asked General Dámaso Berenguer to form a new government. Sanjurjo felt he was more qualified for this role.
In 1931, local elections showed that people in big cities did not support the monarchy. Many people gathered in the streets of Madrid. When asked if his Civil Guard would support the king, Sanjurjo said no. Soon after, King Alfonso XIII left Spain, and the Second Spanish Republic was formed. This meant Spain would now be a country ruled by elected officials, not a king.
Despite some changes to the military by Prime Minister Manuel Azaña in 1931, Sanjurjo kept his job as the commander of the Civil Guard. The Civil Guard continued to use their traditional methods to handle unrest, such as in incidents in Seville.
Sanjurjo was one of the first generals to lead the new Spanish Republican Army. However, he still preferred the idea of Spain having a king. He disagreed with Prime Minister Azaña's military changes. Because of these disagreements and some incidents involving the Civil Guard, Sanjurjo was moved to a less important job as chief of customs officers in 1932.
His unhappiness with the government, Azaña's military changes, and new powers given to regions like Catalonia and the Basque Country, led Sanjurjo to plan a rebellion. He worked with other military officers and Carlists. This rebellion, called the Sanjurjada, began in Seville on August 10, 1932. Sanjurjo claimed the rebellion was only against the current government, not against the Republic itself. It had some success in Seville but failed completely in Madrid. Sanjurjo tried to escape to Portugal but decided to surrender in Huelva.
He was sentenced to death, but this was changed to life in prison. In March 1934, he was pardoned by the Lerroux government and went to live in Estoril, Portugal.
The 1936 Coup and Sanjurjo's Death
When Niceto Alcalá-Zamora was replaced as President by Azaña on May 10, 1936, Sanjurjo joined with Generals Emilio Mola, Francisco Franco, and Gonzalo Queipo de Llano in a secret plan to overthrow the republican government. This plan led to the Nationalist uprising on July 17, 1936, which started the Spanish Civil War.
Sanjurjo was determined to end the Spanish Republic. When asked to lead the rebellion on July 12, 1936, he stated that he wanted to remove political parties and destroy the existing system.
On July 20, 1936, Sanjurjo died in a plane crash in Estoril as he tried to fly back to Spain. He chose to fly in a small biplane piloted by Juan Antonio Ansaldo. A major reason for the crash was the heavy luggage Sanjurjo insisted on bringing. Ansaldo had warned him that the plane was too heavy, but Sanjurjo replied that he needed to wear proper clothes as the new leader of Spain.
Sanjurjo chose Ansaldo's small plane instead of a much larger and more suitable one that was available. The larger plane was the same one that had flown Franco from the Canary Islands to Morocco. Ansaldo survived the crash.
When Mola also died in a plane accident later, Franco became the main leader of the Nationalist side. This led to rumors that Franco had arranged the deaths of his two rivals, but there has never been any proof to support these claims.
In 2017, a law in Spain called the Historical Memory Law was used by officials in Navarre. This law required Sanjurjo's remains to be moved, even though his family disagreed. He was reburied in a military cemetery in the Spanish city of Melilla, a place where Sanjurjo had once been in charge. There was some debate when Sanjurjo was buried with military honors, but the government of Navarre was told that no special honors were given, and his remains were received "just as one more soldier."
Sanjurjo in Books
José Sanjurjo's flight from Portugal is featured in the beginning of the alternate history novel Hitler's War by Harry Turtledove. In this story, Sanjurjo listens to the pilot and leaves his luggage behind, so the flight is safe. His actions after this point are different from what actually happened with Franco. In the book, Spain takes a more active role in World War II and joins the Axis Powers.
José Sanjurjo, the start of the Spanish Civil War, and his plane crash are also discussed in José Saramago's book The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis.
See also
In Spanish: José Sanjurjo para niños
- Sanjurjada
- Villa Sanjurjo
- White Terror (Spain)
