Cadiz Constitution of 1812: Origins, Impact, and Legacy
The Courts of Cadiz and the Constitution of 1812
The 1812 Constitution (or Cadiz Constitution) was the fundamental rule drafted by the Spanish Courts gathered on the island of Leon, under siege by the French. It leaned towards liberalism and was known as “La Pepa” because it was approved on the day of St. Joseph.
The Cadiz Constitution was enacted by the Regency on March 19, 1812, revoked by the king on May 4, 1814, and restored in 1820 by Gen. Riego. In 1823, the French army, the “Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis,” helped repeal it. It was briefly reinstated after the events of August 13, 1836, and remained valid until October 24, 1836, when the government introduced a new text that was promulgated on June 18, 1837.
This constitution was the first drafted in Spain and the first with a progressive leaning. Key aspects included:
- Sovereignty residing in the nation
- A constitutional monarchy
- Catholicism as the sole religion of the state
- Legislative power vested in the Courts
- A proposed provincial division
- Executive power held by the King
- Judicial power held by the courts
- A unicameral Parliament elected by indirect vote every 2 years
- A limited right of veto for the King
- The King appointing secretaries responsible to the Courts
- A State Council, acting as a royal advisory council
- Unification of the civil code throughout the territory
- Standardization of education
The Reign of Ferdinand VII (1823) and the Liberal Triennium (1820)
The liberal triennium began with Colonel Rafael Riego leading a revolt against troops concentrated for deployment to America. The revolt spread, and Ferdinand VII was forced to swear allegiance to the Cadiz Constitution.
Elected courts established the abolition of judicial guilds, the disentailment of primogeniture, the seizure of church lands, freedom of trade and industry, the abolition of guilds, and the creation of the national militia. This marked a triumph of liberalism. However, Ferdinand vetoed laws and resisted the division of noble lands, preferring the old regime to a capitalist system.
The Ominous Decade
Ferdinand VII requested assistance from the Holy Alliance, an absolutist coalition that sent the “Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis” to Spain. This army restored absolutism, and Ferdinand VII initiated a period of repression. By 1824, the last continental American colonies were lost.
Minister Lopez Ballesteros began timid reforms, aligning with the industrial bourgeoisie of Madrid. These reforms had consequences, including the outbreak of the War of the Discontents in Catalonia. Ferdinand VII, widowed for the third time, favored his daughter Helen as his successor. He introduced a law allowing women to govern, ensuring Helen’s inheritance.
Ferdinand VII died in 1833, and his daughter Elizabeth II was proclaimed queen, triggering the First Carlist War.