![Quema de conventos (1931)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Quema_de_conventos_%281931%29.png)
Between May 10 and May 13, 1931, over one hundred convents and other religious buildings were burnt by anarchists and other extreme left anticlericalists in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
during riots that started in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
and spread throughout the country.
On May 10, a right-wing group played a recording of the monarchist ''
Marcha Real
The (; "Royal March") is the national anthem of Spain. It is one of only four national anthems in the world – along with those of Bosnia and Herzegovina, San Marino and Kosovo – that have no official lyrics. Although it had lyrics in the p ...
'' by an open window in the
Calle de Alcalá
Calle de Alcalá is among the longest streets in Madrid. It starts at the Puerta del Sol and goes on for , to the northeastern outskirts of the city. Henry David Inglis described it in 1837 as "long, of superb width, and flanked by a splendid rang ...
while a large crowd were returning from the
Buen Retiro Park
The Buen Retiro Park (Spanish: ''Parque del Buen Retiro'', literally "Good retirement park"), Retiro Park or simply El Retiro is one of the largest parks of the city of Madrid, Spain. The park belonged to the Spanish Monarchy until the late 19th ...
. Some members of the crowd were enraged, and protests the following day swept across Spain. While some members of the new government of the Spanish Republic wanted to restore order, others in the cabinet resisted. According to the canonical narrative
Manuel Azaña
Manuel Azaña Díaz (; 10 January 1880 – 3 November 1940) was a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1933 and 1936), organizer of the Popular Front in 1935 and the last President of the Repu ...
allegedly stated that "all the convents of Spain are not worth the life of a single Republican".
References
{{reflist
1931 in Spain
Second Spanish Republic
1931 riots
May 1931 events
Anti-Catholicism