Ferdinand VII: Restoration and Liberal Triennium
The Restoration of Ferdinand VII
After the Treaty of Valençay (1813), Ferdinand VII returned to Spain in 1814. He did not accept the Constitution of 1812, nor the societal changes caused by the war, nor the work of the Cortes and the Regency. Ferdinand VII enjoyed support among the masses, the Church, and the nobility. Royalist members approached Ferdinand, criticized the liberal regime, and asked him to resume absolute powers, while also suggesting some reforms in the Manifesto of the Persians.
With the support of the Army, Ferdinand VII restored the absolute authority of the king, declaring the Constitution and the decrees of the Cortes null and void. A six-year period began when Ferdinand, as absolute king, tried to return to the situation of 1808. He restored the Inquisition and reinstated the privileges of the Church and Nobility. All this occurred amidst great chaos, economic crisis, and the revolt of the American colonies.
Liberals, finding themselves either in jail or in exile, plotted and sought the alliance of the Army. The Army had been forced to open its ranks to officers from the bourgeoisie and middle classes. These newly promoted officers found support among liberals and secret societies, often in the old gambling tables of the army. The classic method of intervention in politics was through the Army, but initial attempts failed because the insurgent units were scarce and uncoordinated.
However, in January 1820, Rafael del Riego, head of the Battalion of Asturias, led a pronouncement in Cabezas de San Juan (Seville) and proclaimed the Constitution of 1812.
The Liberal Triennium
The Liberal Triennium (1820-1823) was marked by government instability. This was due, firstly, to the division of the liberals into Moderates and Exaltados (radicals), and secondly, to the regressive attitude of Ferdinand VII, who vetoed legislation and, within a few months, requested foreign intervention to restore him to absolute power.
This instability was accompanied by high pressure in the streets, fueled both by the radical Exaltados in patriotic societies and by the absolutist reaction. During these three years, the Cortes approved reform legislation with the intention of ending the Old Regime. The main actions were:
- Suppression of entailed land.
- Confiscation of wasteland and property belonging to municipalities, intended to provide land to retired soldiers and laborers, but this was unsuccessful.
- Ecclesiastical confiscation.
- Restoration of the tithe in finances, establishing a direct contribution on property.
- Restoration of the 1813 decree on freedom of contract, operation, and marketing of agricultural production.
The consequences of this policy were negative: the situation of the peasantry did not improve, property was consolidated, and it originated a great peasant alignment with the absolutist reaction.
The religious policy of the Parliament was marked by anti-clericalism. The Inquisition was abolished. The suspension of monastic law barely had time to be applied, but it provoked a confrontation with the Church, which supported the return to absolutism and the alliance between throne and altar.
The failure of the Triennium was precipitated by the successive actions of counter-revolutionary movements and the subsequent French intervention. The Exaltados seized control of the government (Evaristo San Miguel). Counter-revolutionary guerrillas were organized in the north by absolutists and the clergy. The powers of the Holy Alliance intervened with little opposition and restored Ferdinand VII to absolute power.