New Books in History Giles Tremlett, "El Generalísimo: A Biography of Francisco Franco" (Oxford UP, 2025)
Jan 17, 2026
Giles Tremlett, a prize-winning biographer and historian of 20th-century Spain, delves into the life of Francisco Franco in his latest book. He explores Franco’s complex relationship with his father and his early military ambitions in Morocco, which shaped his authoritarian ideology. Tremlett discusses Franco's cautious tactics during the Civil War, his strategic alliances with Hitler and Mussolini, and the Catholic Church's role in legitimizing his regime. The conversation challenges conventional views, portraying Franco as a pragmatic dictator whose legacy profoundly influences modern Spain.
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Pragmatism Overrode Franco's Crusader Rhetoric
- Franco recruited colonial Moroccan troops despite his Catholic crusader rhetoric because they fought effectively.
- Tremlett explains this was pragmatic: colonial regiments were superior fighting units he relied upon.
Autarky Became Political Defense
- After 1945 Franco turned isolation into a political narrative and embraced autarky to survive international ostracism.
- Tremlett shows he framed Spain as victimized and adopted self-reliance to justify pariah status.
Church Legitimized Francoism Then Drifted Away
- The Catholic Church legitimized Franco's rule and defined Spanish identity as Catholic.
- Tremlett stresses the church's power early on and its later ideological divergence from Franco after Vatican II.
