Monumento del Llano Amarillo is a monument in the Spanish territory of Ceuta, in the North of Africa, at the bottom of Mount Hacho. The fifteen metre monument was moved here from Morocco in 1962 and it is one of the few sculptures left that record Spain's period of Nationalism following the Spanish Civil War. [1]
The monument records an "oath before the battle" made by generals, led by General Yagüe, involved in the conspiracy that gave rise to the Spanish Civil War on 12 July 1936. [2] The monument was designed by the sculptor Bonifacio López Torvizco and the architect was Francisco Martínez Hernanz. It was unveiled on 13 July 1940 in Llano Amarillo, near Issaguen, in the Spanish Protectorate of Morocco (now independent Morocco). [2] The monument is a symbol of the eventual defeat of the republican forces. The main monolith is fifteen metres high with stylized wings. [2] General Yague led his mutinous troops across the Straits of Gibraltar from Ceuta. He joined up with other soldiers near Seville. Yague is a controversial figure as he is known to have killed thousands including civilians and hospital patients to avoid taking prisoners.[ citation needed ]
The work was damaged by a five-person team financed by the Catalan banker and exile Josep Andreu Abelló. The team used paint to create the message "Amnesty and Freedom" which was a reference to Spanish political prisoners at that time.[ citation needed ]
In 1962 and as a result of the independence of Morocco the monument was moved to Ceuta. It was disassembled stone by stone in Morocco and it was then rebuilt at this location. [3]
The monument is one of the few in Spain which commemorate the time when General Franco ruled Spain, and while it is still controversial there have been no recent attacks on the monument.
Ceuta is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa.
Melilla is an autonomous city of Spain located on the northwest coast of Africa, sharing a border with Morocco. It has an area of 12.3 km2 (4.7 sq mi). One of two Spanish autonomous cities in mainland Africa together with Ceuta, it was part of the Province of Málaga until 14 March 1995, when the Statute of Autonomy of Melilla was passed.
Perejil Island, also known as Parsley Island, is a small, uninhabited rocky islet located off the coast of Morocco, just 200 metres (660 ft) from the mainland coast. Its sovereignty is disputed between Spain and Morocco. It was the subject of an armed incident between the two countries in 2002.
A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often made of very hard and solid igneous or metamorphic rock. Some monoliths are volcanic plugs, solidified lava filling the vent of an extinct volcano.
The Ceuta border fence forms part of the Morocco–Spain border at Ceuta, a city on the North African coast. Constructed by Spain, its purpose is to prevent smuggling and to stop migrants from entering Europe. Morocco objected to the construction of the barrier since it does not recognize Spanish sovereignty in Ceuta.
The Spanish protectorate in Morocco was established on 27 November 1912 by a treaty between France and Spain that converted the Spanish sphere of influence in Morocco into a formal protectorate.
Juan Yagüe y Blanco, 1st Marquis of San Leonardo de Yagüe was a Spanish military officer during the Spanish Civil War, one of the most important in the Nationalist side. He became known as the "Butcher of Badajoz" because he ordered thousands killed, including wounded men in the hospital.
Monte Hacho is a low mountain that overlooks the Spanish city of Ceuta, on the north coast of Africa. Monte Hacho is positioned on the Mediterranean coast at the Strait of Gibraltar opposite Gibraltar, and along with the Rock of Gibraltar is claimed by some to be one of the Pillars of Hercules. According to the legend Hercules pushed apart the two mountains and created a link between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.
The Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) broke out with a military uprising in Morocco on July 17, triggered by events in Madrid. Within days, Spain was divided in two: a "Republican" or "Loyalist" Spain consisting of the Second Spanish Republic, and a "Nationalist" Spain under the insurgent generals, and, eventually, under the leadership of General Francisco Franco.
The Army of Africa or Moroccan Army Corps was a field army of the Spanish Army that garrisoned the Spanish protectorate in Morocco from the late 19th century until Morocco's independence in 1956.
The Battle of Badajoz was one of the first major engagements of the Spanish Civil War, resulting in a tactical and strategic Nationalist victory, however at a significant cost in time and troops. After several days of shelling and bombardment, Nationalists stormed the fortified border city of Badajoz on August 14, 1936, cutting off the Spanish Republic from neighbouring Portugal and linking the northern and southern zones of Nationalist control.
Heli Rolando de Tella y Cantos was a decorated Spanish soldier and military officer who served in the Moroccan War and the Spanish Civil War, siding with Franco's Nationalists.
The Battle of Mérida saw Republican militia twice fail to halt the Spanish Army of Africa near the historic town of Mérida early in the Spanish Civil War.
The Fuerzas Regulares Indígenas, known simply as the Regulares (Regulars), are volunteer infantry units of the Spanish Army, largely recruited in the cities of Ceuta and Melilla. Consisting of indigenous infantry and cavalry recruited in Spanish Morocco, forming part of the Army of Africa and officered by Spaniards, these troops played a significant role in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939).
Msoura is an archaeological site of a stone circle in northern Morocco. It is located near Chouahed village, 15 kilometers southeast of Asilah, and consists of 167 monoliths surrounding a tumulus 58 m long, 54 m wide, with a height of 6 m. One of the monoliths, known as El Uted measures more than 5 m, with the average height of the monoliths being 1.5 m. Legend claims it is the tomb of the giant Antaeus. Dated to the 4th or 3rd century BC, the site probably hints to the beginnings of the Kingdom of Mauretania.
The Badajoz massacre occurred in the days after the Battle of Badajoz during the Spanish Civil War. Between 500 and 4,000 civilian and military supporters of the Second Spanish Republic were killed by the Nationalist forces after the seizure of the town of Badajoz on August 14, 1936.
The Perejil Island crisis was a bloodless armed conflict between Spain and Morocco that took place on 11–20 July 2002. The incident took place over the small, uninhabited Perejil Island, when a squad of the Royal Moroccan Navy occupied it. After an exchange of declarations between both countries, the Spanish troops eventually evicted the Moroccan infantry who had relieved their Navy comrades.
The July 1936 military uprising in Melilla occurred at the start of the Spanish Civil War. The rebels seized the main garrisons of the Spanish Army in Africa and by 18 July had crushed the resistance of the army officers loyal to the Republican government. The supporters of the Second Spanish Republic were detained or shot.
The symbols of Francoism were iconic references to identify the Francoist State in Spain between 1936 and 1975. They serve as visual illustrations for the ideology of Francoist Spain. Uniforms were designed for men and women that combined elements of the earlier Falangist and Carlist uniforms. The state developed new flags and escutcheons based on the traditional heraldry of the monarchy, but now associated with the state. The emblem of five arrows joined by a yoke was also adopted from earlier Spanish symbology, but after 1945 the arrows always pointed upward. This emblem appeared on buildings, plaques and uniforms.
Virgilio Leret Ruiz was a Spanish air force commander, writer and pioneer of aeronautical engineering with a patented jet-engine design. He is believed to be the first officer executed in the Spanish Civil War after a Nationalist-rebel takeover of the presidio of Melilla in the Spanish protectorate of Morocco.
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Coordinates: 35°54′6″N5°17′44″W / 35.90167°N 5.29556°W
