Basically, because the western democracies let Hitler and Mussolini help him win the Spanish Civil War then not long after that, the U.S.A. threw him a lifeline by making him a Cold War ally. read more
In the long term, an isolated Spain was about to crumble, but by then, the Western Democracies, already in the Cold War, thought they would rather have an anti-communist Spain under Franco than a volatile, naturally leftist country that had not another real alternative candidate to replace him. read more
Franco did want to conquer Gibraltar, seeing it as a rightful part of Spain. While that might not be overly expansionist, he did press Hitler to include the Spanish acquisition of French colonies in Africa in the terms for a potential Spanish entry into the war. read more
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was born on December 4, 1892, in El Ferrol, a small coastal town on Spain’s northwestern tip. Until age 12, Franco attended a private school run by a Catholic priest. He then entered a naval secondary school with the goal of following his father and grandfather into a sea-based military career. read more