Alfonso XIII and the Crisis of the Restoration in Spain

Posted on Dec 16, 2024 in History

Alfonso XIII and the Crisis of the Restoration

The disaster of 1898 marked the first stage of Alfonso XIII’s reign, which was characterized by the spirit of regeneration.

1. Political Regeneration Projects

Regenerationism was a political-cultural movement that emerged in response to the general climate of failure and frustration that prevailed in Spanish society in the aftermath of 1898. Its maximum exponent was Joaquin Costa. His ideas are contained in his work “Oligarchy and Despotism.” He proposed a political system based on cleaning the electoral system, political morality, education reform, the promotion of public works, and the promotion of agriculture through water works, irrigation, and reforestation. He also proposed a foreign policy shift towards Africa and away from the constant remembrance of the glorious Spanish past.

Regenerationism did not form political parties. Silvela, the new Conservative leader, sought to implement the regenerationist program. However, it needed a large budget, which meant higher taxes, something Catalonia and the oligarchy refused, making reform impossible.

More importantly, its cultural significance, together with the Krausists, formed the bulk of teachers in the ILE (Institución Libre de Enseñanza).

First Regenerationism (1898-1907)

The key to the success of the restoration of political stability was based on two pillars: the existence of two major parties (bipartisanship) and peaceful change in government (turn of power). The two dynastic parties were not mass parties, but rather parties of notables. Therefore, the death of the two political leaders (Cánovas in 1897 and Sagasta in 1903) created a major crisis in both parties. The internal crisis of the two dynastic parties during the reign of Alfonso XIII explains the large political role assumed by the monarch. In 1905, the Liberal government approved the “Law of Jurisdictions,” which identified crimes against the army as crimes against the Motherland. This law exacerbated the socialist spirit and, above all, that of Catalan nationalists. It tried to control the dissatisfaction of the army and its meddling in politics.

Maura’s Conservative Government (1907-1909)

In 1907, the Conservatives made the first attempts at reforms with Maura, whose intention was to make the “revolution from above.” Their goals were to eliminate clientelism and achieve electoral purity. His most ambitious reform was the Local Government Act, which gave autonomy to the municipalities. In the same vein was the establishment of Mancomunidades (Associations).

One of the reforms of the Conservative government was labor laws that led to the creation of the National Insurance Institute (1908), whose mandate was to promote and facilitate collective social insurance. However, its priority was to resolve the plight of workers who, forced by age to stop working, best illustrates the spirit of that revolution from above. The Electoral Reform Act (1907) declared compulsory voting, intending to eliminate fraud and ensure clean elections, but these were manipulated.

Spain tried to participate in the Scramble for Africa, which was benefiting the European powers. After the International Conference of Algeciras, held to resolve disputes arising between France, Morocco, and Germany, Spain won the final recognition of its rights in the northern territory. The military occupation of the assigned area began in February 1909, when the Conservatives, supporters of the Spanish presence in Morocco, were in power. However, this issue caused popular discontent because of the forcible recruitment of troops for a war that only interested two minorities: a section of the military and capitalists. Until 1912, those who had money could avoid joining the army by paying a high fee, unaffordable for the lower classes. This accounted for the popular anti-militarism.

Crucial events occurred during the Tragic Week in Barcelona in July 1909, when an insurrection in the Rif forced the government to send troops. The War Minister made the mistake of sending an army corps that included Catalan reservists. In Barcelona, the port where the troops were boarding, demonstrations began. The military authorities declared a state of war. This insurrection, known as the “Tragic Week,” unleashed a wave of street violence that culminated on July 26 with a General Strike, followed by the masses. Consequences:

  • 116 killed, 300 wounded, and 17 sentenced to death, of which 5 were executed, including Francisco Ferrer, an anarchist intellectual whose execution was questionable for many.
  • Maura’s fall, a politically competent man who lost even the confidence of the King. The Tragic Week showed the accumulated social stress, which exploded at that moment. Anti-clericalism and anti-militarism were effectively exploited by leftist movements: PSOE, UGT, Republicans, and especially the anarchists, who saw the convenience of an organization of their own to more effectively combat the power of the state. Thus, in 1910, the National Confederation of Labor (CNT) was founded.

An Attempt at Liberal Reform: Canalejas (1910-1912)

The liberal Canalejas, a regenerationist, succeeded Maura. He carried out a series of measures: social (regulation of night work for women), replacing the consumption tax on income and other progressive taxes, and the militarization of urban and rail services to end a rail strike. He established compulsory military service in wartime; in peacetime, it only lasted 5 months upon payment of a sum of money. In the religious field, he enacted the Padlock Law, which prohibited the installation of religious orders in Spain for two years. The Moroccan question was firmly addressed. In 1912, Congress passed the Law on Associations.

Strengthening of the Opposition

Republicans represented the main political force of opposition to the regime. They defended progress, social justice, the development of science, and the extension of education, with a clerical nature. During the reign of Alfonso XIII, the old Republicanism was divided into the Radical Party and the Reform Party. Within the Republican party, a special mention deserves the PSOE, founded by Pablo Iglesias. During this century, nationalist differences were emerging, the most important being Catalan and Basque. In the background was Galician nationalism, which was not very important. Catalan nationalism was defended by two political groups: the Regionalist League (conservative) and Estat Català. With regard to Basque nationalism, one party stands out with its ultra-conservative ideology: the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV).

2. Alfonso XIII: The Crisis of Parliamentary Government (1914-1923)

Background

The conservative government of Dato had to decide on Spain’s role in World War I. He began his government amid infighting within his party, between supporters of Maura and other supporters of his own. Similarly, the Liberal Party was split.

Regarding the Great War, the prevailing isolationist thesis, and thus, Spanish neutrality, brought economic benefits. It was a spectacular growth in foreign demand for Spanish goods but caused an inflationary process, as prices rose by targeting production for export. The impoverishment of workers coincided with an enrichment of entrepreneurs, causing social unrest.

The Crisis of 1917

The crisis of 1917, ideologically and morally animated by the Russian Revolution and amid the general downturn in the political class, occurred in three orders: military, political, and social. The military, rejected by society and forgotten by the government, reacted against the rapid ascent of the Africanist military. To defend the promotion system referred to in the military code, Juntas were created, which were ended by the Liberal government, forcing it to resign. Soon, the Juntas went beyond their role and delved into political issues that Maura was not willing to represent, leading to the dilution of the movement.

In the political establishment, outside the government, a Parliamentary Assembly was formed in July 1917. The crisis of the turn-party system and its inability to renew itself favored increasing political opposition. The initiative came from the Regionalist League, led by Cambó, who summoned the Catalan parliament in Barcelona to an unlawful assembly on July 5. It was agreed to ask the Government to convene a Constituent Cortes with a double mission:

  • Breaking the political system of the Restoration.
  • Autonomy for Catalonia.

The Government did not accede to this request and called a new meeting, known as the Parliamentary Assembly, which reaffirmed the resolutions of the previous meeting. In this case, the Government simply declared such claims unconstitutional. The heterogeneous composition and major social events scared the components, leading to its dissolution. The social expression of the crisis was the general strike, motivated in part by price gouging (37% in five years). Organized by the CNT and UGT, they demanded wage increases and political progress. The general strike was convened ahead of schedule since a railroad strike in Valencia precipitated events. Given the massive following of the strike, the government’s response was to draw the army into the streets, resulting in deaths, arrests, and death sentences, while normalizing the situation in the country.

The Final Collapse of the Regime (1918-1923)

During the period 1918-1923, government inefficiency was accentuated. The Governments of Concentration, pioneered by the liberal President García Prieto, were of no use. Thus, bipartisanship was broken. This system did not work, so turnismo was resorted to due to the inability to get a majority.

The Russian Revolution had effects on Spanish society. Also, the triumph of the Bolshevik Revolution breathed remarkable enthusiasm into labor organizations, for which Russia became a myth, a workers’ paradise.

In Andalusia and the Levant, between 1918 and 1920, the precarious living conditions of day laborers led to the Bolshevik Triennium, led by anarchists, socialists, and republicans. Through strikes, land occupation, and the destruction of crops, they demanded fairer working conditions. The oligarchs and local bosses, claiming the support of the army, crushed the movement, leaving the problem of the peasantry unresolved. Social tension was increasing both in the countryside and in industry. Wildcat strikes were followed by employers responding with “lock-outs,” leaving 100,000 workers on the street. Employers hired gunmen and private security. The government’s Ley de Fugas allowed them to kill detainees who tried to escape.

The War in Morocco

The agreement between Spain and France in 1912 had turned the catchment areas of both countries in Morocco into a shared protectorate. The Spanish protectorate, located in the north, covered an area much smaller and poorer than the French. In addition, the control of these territories had more drawbacks than advantages. But the disaffection of the territory explains the vacillating policy of the Government, alternating phases of military intervention with others of halting activities. Added to this was the unpopularity of the war and the division within the army.

In July 1921, the Commander of Melilla, General Fernández Silvestre, made a military error whose tragic outcome had unintended consequences. This error led to the defeat of Annual, which triggered a real military disaster: the virtual destruction of all forces of the command, with more than 13,000 casualties and grave danger even for the Plaza de Melilla.

3. The Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera (1923-1930)

Prepared in the spring, in September 1923, and supported by the bourgeoisie, General Primo de Rivera staged a coup d’état, supported by King Alfonso XIII, given the plight of the general crisis. Causes: On September 13, 1923, the Captain General of Catalonia, Miguel Primo de Rivera, sent troops to occupy the Barcelona telephone services and read a statement to reporters, staging a coup d’état. Alfonso XIII ordered Primo de Rivera to form a government. He decided to become a single military dictator, albeit inconsistent, with the assistance of a board composed of military generals. The authoritarian dictatorship was the solution to an already unsustainable situation, whose main causes were:

  • The crisis in the political system, unable to renew itself from within and increasingly undermined by social unrest since the crisis of 1917.
  • The failure of the Moroccan policy, especially acute since the disaster of Annual in 1921.

But if Primo de Rivera’s coup triumphed, it was because, from the beginning, it had important support: Alfonso XIII, an important sector of the army, and the Catalan business community. Also important was the passivity of socialists and anarchists.

Military Directory (1923-1925)

In the first stage of the dictatorship, power was exercised by a military board chaired by Primo de Rivera, with executive and legislative powers. Armed with general approval, the dictator had decided intentions to solve the problems (economic bankruptcy, political incompetence, social disorder) at the expense of eliminating constitutional guarantees. The objectives of Primo de Rivera were defined by the motto “less politics and more administration.” If the dictatorship lasted just over six years, it was largely due to initial successes, mainly the restoration of public order and the resolution of the problem in Morocco. The first steps taken by Primo de Rivera were:

  • He assumed all powers, dissolved the Parliament, and suspended the Constitution. He censored the press.
  • He banned political parties and trade unions.
  • He ordered an end to the civil authorities and created the municipal and provincial statutes, giving more legal status to political organizations.
  • He suppressed the labor movement and nationalism, suspending the Commonwealth of Catalonia.
  • He militarized public order.

Civil Directory (1925-1927)

In December 1925, the Military Board was replaced by a civil government. The change did not mean a return to constitutional guarantees. Once the two major problems that could justify the exceptional situation of the dictatorship to the public had been solved, Primo de Rivera could have retired from politics and thus allowed the return to constitutional normality. But he did not. On the contrary, he proposed to renew his dictatorial regime by replacing the military directory with a new civilian board. He oversaw the construction of public works such as Telefónica, Iberia, Campsa, waterworks, and irrigation.

  • Labor Code (1926), regulating contracts, labor courts, accident courts, large family allowances, maternity insurance, etc.
  • In the same year, he created the National Corporate Organization, with the intention of resolving labor conflicts through joint committees, formed equally by workers and employers.

Final Stage of the Dictatorship

Balance: demographic recovery. Industrial momentum, leaving Spain in 5th place in world car manufacturing. Social reforms: building affordable homes, health insurance, social subsidies, and schools. However, there were substantive issues in which the dictatorship failed:

  • He was unable to end clientelism, especially in Galicia and the south.
  • He earned enemies in the army when he implemented a promotion system that favored merit rather than seniority.
  • He did not do well with the nationalist question, especially Catalan, which he sharply limited, even in language use. Moreover, the provincial statutes did not go beyond the level of Associations.
  • Friction with the university and intellectuals was constant, despite the creation of new schools, culminating in indictments and arrests of thinkers such as Unamuno, Fernando de los Ríos, Jiménez de Asúa, and Valle-Inclán.

The crash of 1929 worsened the situation, and Alfonso XIII finally withdrew his confidence, as did the military hierarchy. Primo de Rivera resigned on January 28, 1930, and died soon after in Paris.

The Fall of the Monarchy

After the resignation of Primo de Rivera, the king decided to restore the old parliamentary system and entrusted the government to General Dámaso Berenguer, one of those involved in the disaster of Annual. His first measures, taken by decree and without calling elections, were: general amnesty, restoring the Constitution of 1876, and returning to their seats the dismissed councilors.

Meanwhile, opposition parties organized outside the system and signed the Pact of San Sebastián. Its objectives were to establish the Republic, through a civilian-backed military uprising, and to consider an autonomy statute for Catalonia. As a result of acts of conspiracy by Republicans, the Jaca uprising occurred. It failed, but the shooting of two activists gave two heroes to the cause.

On February 13, 1931, Berenguer called elections, resigned, and was replaced by Aznar. Elections were held in April. With this background, Alfonso XIII abdicated, and on April 14, 1931, the Second Republic was proclaimed, and a Provisional Government was formed. On April 15, the king left the country.