19th Century Spain: A Timeline of Political Upheaval
Charles IV’s Reign (1805-1808)
- 1805: Battle of Trafalgar
- 1808: Abdication of Bayonne, Start of the Peninsular War
Joseph Bonaparte’s Reign (1808-1813)
- 1810: Convocation of the Cortes
- 1812: Constitution of Cádiz, Annexation of Catalonia
- 1813: Treaty of Valençay
Ferdinand VII’s Reign (1814-1833)
Absolutist Restoration (1814-1820)
- 1814: Return to Absolutism
- 1817: Lacy’s Liberal Pronouncement
Liberal Triennium (1820-1823)
- 1820: Riego’s Uprising
- 1822: Royalist Uprising in Catalonia
- 1823: Hundred Thousand Sons of St. Louis
Ominous Decade (1823-1833)
- 1824: Battle of Ayacucho
- 1827: War of the Malcontents
- 1830: Birth of Isabella II and Pragmatic Sanction
- 1833: Death of Ferdinand VII
Regency of Maria Cristina (1833-1840)
Moderates (1833-1835)
- 1834: Royal Statute
Progressives (1835-1836)
- 1835: Bullangues in Catalonia, Burning of Bonaplata Factory in Barcelona
Moderates (1836-1840)
- 1836: Progressive Revolt
- 1837: Mendizábal’s Seizure, Progressive Constitution
- 1840: Anti-Carlist Regime, Municipal Councils Act
Progressives (1840-1843)
- 1842: Free Trade Duties, Bombing of Barcelona
Reign of Isabella II (1843-1868)
Moderates (1843-1854)
- 1843: Uprising in Barcelona
- 1844: Creation of the Civil Guard
- 1845: Moderate Constitution, Local Administration Law
- 1848: Criminal Code
- 1849: Creation of the Democratic Party
- 1851: Concordat with the Holy See
- 1846-1849: First Carlist War
Progressives (1854-1856)
- 1854: Progressive Revolution, Creation of the Liberal Union
- 1855: Madoz Law (Seizure of Railways)
Liberal Union (1856-1863)
- 1857: Public Instruction Law
- 1859-1860: War of Morocco
- 1858-1863: Indochina Expedition
Moderates (1863-1868)
- 1866: Economic Crisis, San Gil Uprising
- 1868: Overthrow of Isabella II, Progressive Revolution
Provisional Government of Serrano and Prim (1868-1871)
- 1868: Glorious Revolution, Overthrow of Isabella II
- Universal Male Suffrage Elections
- Creation of the Federal Republican Party of Catalonia
- 1870: Prim’s Assassination
Reign of Amadeo I (1871-1873)
- 1871: Beginning of Amadeo’s Reign
- 1872: Abdication of Amadeo I
- 1872-1874: Third Carlist War
First Spanish Republic (1873-1874)
- 1879: Founding of the PSOE
- 1888: Founding of the UGT
Reign of Alfonso XII (1874-1885)
Liberals (Sagasta)
- 1883: Founding of the Catalan Center
Conservatives (Cánovas)
- 1885: Death of Alfonso XII
Regency of Maria Cristina (1885-1902)
- 1889: Civil Code
- Universal Male Suffrage (Liberals)
- 1895: Founding of the National Party
- 1897: Assassination of Cánovas
Constitution of 1812
Background and Historical Context
The Constitution of 1812 was drafted during the Peninsular War by the Cortes of Cádiz. It established a liberal political system with the constitution as the supreme law of the land.
Definition of Sovereignty
In the previous royal regime, sovereignty resided with the king. Under the new liberal state, sovereignty resided with the citizens, without distinction or privilege.
Restoration (1875-1898)
What was Restored?
- Monarchy: Alfonso XII, son of Isabella II, was proclaimed king in 1875.
- Control of the state by the upper classes after the failure of democratic administrations.
Period of Political Stability
Spain experienced a period of political stability parallel to developments in contemporary Europe. This period saw the consolidation of capitalism during the Second Industrial Revolution, peace between major powers, the development of political freedoms, and the extension of male suffrage and legalization of unions.
Cánovas’ Political System
- Internal Constitution (denial of national sovereignty)
- Limited authority of the monarch
- Flexible constitution (undefined suffrage type)
- Bipartisanship and peaceful alternation of power between dynastic parties to prevent coups
- Undermining of democratization due to electoral falsification and caciquismo
Political Parties
The Conservative Party (Cánovas) and the Liberal Party (Sagasta) held a monopoly on government. The Liberals were more reformist and less clerical than the Conservatives. The Conservatives represented the interests of the upper classes and the bourgeoisie, while the Liberals represented the middle class. Alternation of government occurred through negotiations between the parties and manipulation of votes. Opposition parties were excluded from the political system. These included fundamentalists, Carlists, republicans, Catalan and Basque nationalists, the PSOE (founded in 1879), and anarchists. The lack of true democratization meant that issues such as large estates, illiteracy, clericalism, and the plight of the working masses remained unresolved at the end of the 19th century.
Caciquismo
Spanish society was largely controlled by caciques (influential figures in a given territory, often large rural landowners, who created networks of economic control that determined the social and political life of the population). Caciques ruled the rural world through their control over key figures in each town. The system worked as follows: the new government appointed by the monarch prepared lists of deputies who were to be elected by the courts. The governor of each province ensured that landowners and voters cast their ballots for the government’s candidates. Electoral fraud was carried out through the composition of polling stations, vote-buying, violence, and manipulation of ballot boxes.