turn Spain into a true democracy. These policies successfully faced the social turmoil that radicals had been creating within Spain (and which had led, in 1909, to a brief but bloody unrest in Barcelona). On 12 November 1912, while he was window-shopping the literary novelties of the day from a bookstore in central Madrid, he was fatally shot by anarchist Manuel Pardiñas. Legacy Canalejas believed in the possibility of a monarchy open to a thoroughgoing democratic policy both in economic and in civil and political matters. Salvador de Madariaga, the liberal historian, argued that the disasters Spain experienced during the 1930s could be traced to Canalejas' murder, given that this murder deprived King Alfonso of one of his few genuine statesmen. References External links José Canalejas Méndez Proyecto Filosofía en español José Canalejas Méndez Archivo Canalejas (In Spanish) José Canalejas Méndez Universidad Carlos III de Madrid - Biographical page in Spanish about "José Canalejas" 1854 births 1912 deaths 1912 murders in Europe People from Ferrol, Spain Liberal Party (Spain, 1880) politicians 19th-century Spanish lawyers Prime Ministers of Spain Economy and finance ministers of Spain Presidents of the Congress of Deputies (Spain) Assassinated Spanish politicians Deaths by firearm in Spain Members of the Royal Spanish Academy People murdered in Spain Assassinated heads of government Justice ministers of Spain Leaders of political parties in Spain 1910s murders in Spain