NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Civil Guard (Spain)

The Civil Guard, in Spanish Guardia Civil, is the Spanish gendarmery. It has both military and civilian functions. It was created in different stages from 1835 to 1844, and was finally established as an operational force in 1855. The policing done by the Civil Guard starting in 1835 was carried out earlier by the Holy Hermandad. As a police force, the Civil Guard is comparable to the French Gendarmerie and the Italian Carabinieri. The Civil Guard was founded in 1844 during the monarchy of Queen Isabel II of Spain by the Basque Navarrese aristocrat Francisco Javier Girón y Ezpeleta, second Duke of Ahumada. The first academy of "guardias civiles" was established in the town of Valdemoro (Madrid. Spain) in 1855. The Guardia Civil's first job was to restore and maintain security in the Spanish countryside. The end of the First Carlist War had left the Spanish landscape scarred by the destruction of civil war, and the government moved fast to prevent the increasing danger of banditry in the rural areas. Based on the model of light infantry used by Napoleon in his European campaigns, the Guardia Civil was born as a police force with high mobility that could be deployed irrespective of inhospitable conditions and that was able to patrol large areas of the countryside. Its members, called 'numeros' (numbers), maintain to this date the basic patrol unit of two agents, usually called a "pareja" (a pair), in which one of the 'números' will initiate the intervention while the second 'número' serves as logistic support. The inner motto the Civil Guard use as their leading emblem is "El honor es mi divisia" (Honor is my emblem). At the foundation of the Civil Guards the Duke of Ahumada stressed the esprit de corps pointing out the importance of honor: "Honor is the measure of the civil guards action. Once honor is lost, it cannot be regained". Their precincts called "casa cuartel" appear under the motto "Todo por la patria" (All in the service of the Mother/Fatherland). Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A gendarmerie or gendarmery (pronounced ) is a military body charged with police duties among civilian populations. ... Motto: (Spanish for From Madrid to Heaven) Location Coordinates: , Country Spain Autonomous Community Comunidad AutÃ³noma de Madrid Province Madrid Administrative Divisions 21 Neighborhoods 127 Founded 9th century Government - Mayor Alberto Ruiz-GallardÃ³n JimÃ©mez (PP) Area - Land 607 kmÂ² (234. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2224x1348, 1205 KB) Summary Patrullera RÃo NerviÃ³n de la Guardia Civil espaÃ±ola en la rÃa del rÃo NerviÃ³n a su paso por Bilbao. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2224x1348, 1205 KB) Summary Patrullera RÃo NerviÃ³n de la Guardia Civil espaÃ±ola en la rÃa del rÃo NerviÃ³n a su paso por Bilbao. ... La Muy Noble y Muy Leal e Invicta (The most noble and most loyal and undefeated) Location Location of Bilbao in Spain and Biscay Coordinates : 43,15Â° n. ... A gendarmerie or gendarmery (pronounced ) is a military body charged with police duties among civilian populations. ... Hermandad literally brotherhood in Spanish, was a peacekeeping association of armed individuals, a characteristic of municipal life in medieval Spain, especially in Castile. ... Gendarmes Gendarmes guarding the Paris Hall of Justice Gendarmerie motorcyclists police the roads and autoroutes of rural France. ... The Carabinieri are the gendarmerie and military police of Italy. ... Isabella II (October 10, 1830 – 1904), Isabel II in Spanish, was queen of Spain. ... Basque may refer to: Look up Basque in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Navarre (Spanish Navarra, Basque Nafarroa) is an autonomous community in Spain. ... Motto: (Spanish for From Madrid to Heaven) Location Coordinates: , Country Spain Autonomous Community Comunidad AutÃ³noma de Madrid Province Madrid Administrative Divisions 21 Neighborhoods 127 Founded 9th century Government - Mayor Alberto Ruiz-GallardÃ³n JimÃ©mez (PP) Area - Land 607 kmÂ² (234. ... At the beginning of the 18th century, King Philip V of Spain promulgated the Salic Law, which declared illegal the inheritance of the Spanish crown by women. ... For other uses, see Napoleon (disambiguation). ... Esprit de Corps might refer to: Esprit de Corps - state of mind, Morale. ...

Historically, the Spanish Civil Guard had a tendency to get involved in politics, and it has been seen for many years as a reactionary force. In 1873, General Pavia stormed congress and ended the Spanish First Republic with a company of thirty guardias civiles. Years later, under the dictatorship of General Miguel Primo de Rivera (1923-1930) and, later, under the authoritarian government of General Francisco Franco (1939-1975) the Civil Guard was a force of support behind the conservative and even totalitarian governments. It can be said that the Civil Guard has supported established power regardless of the legitimacy of its origins. For a long time their 'números' were feared because of their excesses, great power and authority in local areas, and for their lack of accountability. Their involvement in politics has continued well to the end of the twentieth century. On February 23, 1981, Lt. Col. Antonio Tejero Molina, himself a member of the Guardia Civil, along with a few other 'números' of the Civil Guard, attempted a coup d'etat by holding the lower house of the Cortes hostage during its vote of investiture on Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo as Prime Minister of Spain. The 'guardias' had a mythical reputation in literature and in popular history. At the end of the nineteenth century, the Guardia Civil conducted a campaign against Andalusian anarchists, accusing them of being members of the secret society The Black Hand. Some of the poems by Federico García Lorca, specially in the world-famous Gypsy Ballads, in which the guardias civiles are seen ans the natural enemies of gypsies and other marginal figures, are elaborations of the Guardia Civil initial campaign against anarchists in southern Spain. These poems have contributed to the Guardia Civil's traditional reputation as a heavy-handed police force. Nonetheless, the 'guardias civiles' participated in the rebellions of Barcelona in 1937 during the Spanish civil war. Capital Madrid Language(s) Spanish Religion Roman Catholic Church Government Republic President - 1873 Estanislao Figueras - 1873 Francisco Pi y Margall - 1873-1874 NicolÃ¡s SalmerÃ³n y Alfonso - 1874 Emilio Castelar y Ripoll - 1874 Francisco Serrano y DomÃnguez Legislature Congress of Deputies History - Abdication of Amadeo I 11 February... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Spanish dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, MarquÃ©s de Estella (Jerez, January 8, 1870 - Paris, March 16, 1930) was a Spanish military official who ruled Spain as a dictator from 1923 to 1930, ending the turno system of alternating parties. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... General Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo TeÃ³dulo Franco Bahamonde (4 December 1892 - November 20, [1] 1975), commonly abbreviated to Francisco Franco (pron. ... February 23 is the 54th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... Antonio Tejero with a gun in his hand, breaking into the Spanish Congress of Deputies on February 23, 1981 (23-F), attempting a coup. ... A coup détat, or simply a coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government, usually done by a small group that just replaces the top power figures. ... The Cortes Generales (Spanish for General Courts) is the legislature of Spain. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Andalusians are an ethnic and cultural group in Spain centered in the Andalusia region. ... Theory Issues Culture By region Lists Anarchism Portal Politics Portal Â· Anarchism has historically gained the most support and influence in Spain, especially in the seventy or so years before Francisco Francos victory in the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939. ... La Mano Megra (Spanish), in English, The Black Hand) was a supposed secret and violent Anarchist organization that was founded in Andalucia, Spain in the end of the 19th century. ... Federico GarcÃa Lorca Federico GarcÃa Lorca (June 5, 1898 â€“ August 19, 1936) was a Spanish poet and dramatist, also remembered as a painter, pianist, and composer. ... Location Coordinates : Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Barcelona (Catalan) Spanish name Barcelona Nickname Ciutat Comtal (City of Counts) Postal code 08001â€“08080 Area code 34 (Spain) + 93 (Barcelona) Website http://www. ... It has been suggested that Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War be merged into this article or section. ...

Today the Spanish Civil Guard has changed much. Many visitors to Spain consider them the most trusted police force in the country. Likewise, native Spaniards acknowledge that “nobody wants to see to them but, at the first sign of trouble, they are the first in calling”. The Guardia Civil's proven effectiveness throughout history in controlling banditry and in addressing the subsequent challenges and tasks given them, meant that additional tasks have been added regularly to their job description. Today, they are primarily responsible for policing and/or safety regarding the following (but not limited to) areas and/or safety related issues (given in no special order): highway traffic, drugs and contraband, customs and airports, safety of prisons and safeguarding of prisoners, weapons licenses and arms control, security of border areas, bomb squad and explosives, security in rural areas and in populations with less than 10,000 inhabitants, terrorism; coast guard, police deployments abroad (embassies); inteligence and counter-inteligence gathering. On July 23, 2007, Roberto Flórez García, a retired guardia civil was charged with spying for a foreign power (allegedly Russia).

The Civil Guard has won international respect for their work as peacekeepers in United Nations sponsored operations, including operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Angola, Congo, Nicaragua, Haiti, East Timor and El Salvador. They served with the Spanish contingent in the war in Iraq, mainly in intelligence gathering, and they lost seven 'números'. The Guardia Civil is also known as el instituto armado ("the armed institution") and la benemérita ("the good-deserving"). They served with great distinction in the Spanish colonies, including Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Morocco. The Guardia Civil has a sister force in Costa Rica The foundation of the U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. ...

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They typically patrol in pairs. Their traditional hat is the tricornio, originally a tricorne. Peter the Great reenactor wearing a tricorne The tricorne (also tricorn, tri-cornered hat or three-cornered hat) is a style of hat that was popular during the 18th century, falling out of style shortly before the French Revolution. ...

Since it is considered a military force, its members are not permitted to join trade unions, unlike the parallel National Police. Members of the Guardia Civil often live in garrisons (casa-cuartel) with their families. A trade union or labor union is an organization of individuals associated through employment, or labour. ... ...

The symbol of the Guardia Civil consists of the Royal Crown of Spain, a sword and a fasces. Pope John XXIII after being crowned with the 1877 papal tiara. ... Roman fasces. ...

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