WI: Portugal seizes Galicia during the Spanish Civil War

ben0628

Banned
Is it plausible for Portugal to want to annex Galicia during the 20th century? If so, could they do it during the Spanish Civil War? How would Franco react? Would Spain join WW2 to get Galicia back?
 

ben0628

Banned
How close to Portugal is Gailicia culturally & linguistically?

Was there any political basis for this in 1937?

- this is a generalization but Portuguese language and culture originates from Galician (they belonged to the same Kingdom during the middle ages until Portugal broke off from Galicia and formed it's own seperate identity, however culturally they are almost identical and Galicians during this time period had more in common with Portugal than Spain).

- During this time period, Galicia did want more auntonomy from Spain, so there possibly could be support to leave Spain altogether.

- As for Portugal wanting to annex Galicia, I don't know. Otl, Salazar supported Franco and was a staunch anti-communist. I wonder if there is a situation where Portugal is dragged into the war, occupies Galicia, and refuses to hand it over to Franco after the war?
 
- this is a generalization but Portuguese language and culture originates from Galician (they belonged to the same Kingdom during the middle ages until Portugal broke off from Galicia and formed it's own seperate identity, however culturally they are almost identical and Galicians during this time period had more in common with Portugal than Spain).

- During this time period, Galicia did want more auntonomy from Spain, so there possibly could be support to leave Spain altogether.

- As for Portugal wanting to annex Galicia, I don't know. Otl, Salazar supported Franco and was a staunch anti-communist. I wonder if there is a situation where Portugal is dragged into the war, occupies Galicia, and refuses to hand it over to Franco after the war?
The war settles into a bloody stalemate and Portugal is begged by Galicia to occupy and safeguard it.
 
Franco gained control of Galicia "merely five days after the coup d’état in July of 1936, weeks before the Spanish Civil War would be officially declared as such...Despite the fact that the country for the next three years was ravaged in civil war, no battles occurred in the region and the front line during the war never even approached its borders." https://richardhenricksen24.wordpress.com/2016/03/01/galicias-role-in-the-spanish-civil-war/ Given that Salazar wanted Franco to win the war, it would be bizarre for him to get into a war with the Francoist troops that firmly held Galicia. All that would do would be to help the left-wing Republic that Salazar hated.
 
Salazar wouldn't do that, but if you somehow can make the 1927 Fifi coup works and the ultranationalists rise to power, they could try to do that
 
It should be noted that Franco was from Galicia. He's not going to take this well. Especially since it was apparently one of his most loyal areas. And Portugal wanted Franco, so why antagonize him?
 
@Dr. Strangelove? Do you want to put this one to bed?

To add to what Dementor has said: No way Franco is letting go of Ferrol, which is both the only spanish naval base in the Atlantic and his birth city.

Cultural similarities between Galicia and Portugal are greatly overstated anyway. Sure, the language is similar -but south of Porto most people ask me to speak in spanish rather than galician because they can't understand my accent. Both countries have been separated for almost a thousand years after all. There are cultural similarities in that they both were rural areas, very conservative and catholic. But in Galicia the urban elites have been spanish-speaking and with strong ties to Castile since at least the 15th century, and I don't think Salazar was suddenly going to become a champion of the peasantry -specially as the urban galician-speaking intelligentsia had been exterminated or driven into exile by the fascists within days of the start of the civil war.
 
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