The insurrection, started by the African army, against the Republic gave rise to a civil war which lasted three years. In Catalonia, the state of war caused a social revolution and the beginning of indiscriminate oppression against the wealthy and conservatives. The social and political contradictions caused by the conflict generated tension and confrontations between the left-wing parties and unions. The Generalitat was mediatised, at first by revolutionary bodies and subsequently by the Republican government. The civilian population suffered all kinds of hardship: price increases and hunger, bombardments... The end of the war involved the exile of many Catalans, the beginning of repression against Catalanist and left-wing groups, the abolition of self-government and the downfall of Catalonia as a country.
