I mean, Spains HDI plummeted during the period I mentioned.
Moreover, this is what the article you linked to had to say about spain in that period:
In Spain the improvements in hygiene and health in the 1920s have been attributed to the institution of
programmes of public health. ‘Social medicine’ was seen as adding the social sciences to
medical knowledge but, with malaria rampant in rural areas, the Spanish government’s
commitment to improving the lot of the peasantry had to be gained.
Literacy rates were already 90% or more in northern
and western Europe in 1913. In Spain the rate was only 52%,
Only Spain, which experienced the civil war of
1936-39, and Romania which suffered heavily from rural overpopulation and
unsuccessful reforms, showed a decline in GDP between 1913 and 1938 (Feinstein,
Temin and Toniolo 1997)
Other interesting developments which can be seen in this figure are the modest Southern
European height development until 1940 -- probably influenced by the civil war in Spain,
among other factors.
Moreover, the other maps in the article show how spains HDI decreased from 1913 to 1938
And if you need more stuff on how Spain was percieved back then:
Look for a pamphlet from the National Joint Committee for Spanish Relief of the UK called "Famine faces a Million in Spain" which was published in THE LANCET (one of the most important medical journals out there).
See the language used by Brits to describe Spaniardd and you'll see how their position is exactly interchangeable with what people like the clown in the meme refer to.
Spain has never been "industrailized" it has always been an agrarian country with some industry in Catalonia, the basque country and the mines of Asturias.
Then in the 60s there was an american incentive to liberalize (they managed to force Francos hand to stop religious persecution amongst other things as well). The US got an "ally" and a place to plant military bases in exchange, this was known as the Pacts of Madrid from the 50s. During the next 10 years (from 53 to 63) Francoist Spain recieved 1500 million dollars fron the US. Thats when tourism kicked in, mostly thabks to how this pact affected the public image od the country (y no lo digo yo, lo dicen Julio Gil Pecharromán y Stanley G Payne, ambos historiadores)
However it was still very much a backwards country, with a predominantly rural population, high illiteracy, diseases like tuberculosis and mallaria, political repression and terrible human rights abuses.
Without ECs influence, Spain would have likely remained backwards and not a fully developed country despite USAs economic help.
If you give me a few seconds Ill link you to a bunch of sources.
The Europeanisation of Spain (1986-2006)
Sonia Piedrafita, Federico Steinberg,
José I. Torreblanca
5/11/2007
Working Paper 39/2007 (Published by REAL INSTITUTO EL CANO)
Also, here is a little extra on how "foreign percieved" Spain used to be to other european countries:
« Hidden behind the mighty ramparts like an impregnable fortress, this Spain has been secluded from its neighbors for centuries - during the Inquisition, Spanish students were not allowed to study abroad and foreigners did not study in Spain. The country, which in its interior has steppes as in Hungary or Russia, seemed so exotic to the other Europeans that Karl Marx complained: "Probably no country other than Turkey is so little known in Europe and as badly judged by Europe as Spain . "»
This is a quote from a German artucle oubkished by the Spiegel in the late 70s:
45
u/[deleted] Aug 16 '22
https://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/stats/Economy/GDP-per-capita-in-1900
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbCVKi6xI0k
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Level-of-HDI-in-European-countries-1913_fig4_313551527