ABSTRACT
The four horsemen of the apocalypse rampaged throughout Spain during the civil war, and three of them, pestilence, famine, and death, continued to stalk the land for some years afterwards (chap. 12). Increasingly severe malnutrition affected the Republican zone in particular, and indeed the immediate postwar years are sometimes referred to as “el hambre.” The main reason why it was the government-held zone which suffered so much can be clearly seen from figures 6.1a and 6.1b, which show that the insurgents held the main grain-producing areas of the country, such as those of Castile, from an early stage in the war (whereas the government held the industrial zones of Catalonia and Vizcaya). The other reason was the tide of refugees fleeing before the foe, and of evacuees despatched to havens of comparative safety in advance of his arrival.
