Ferdinand VII’s Reign: Absolutism, Liberalism, and Latin American Independence
Ferdinand VII: Absolutism, Liberalism, and Latin American Independence
Ferdinand VII returned to Spain as the legitimate ruler after the signing of peace between Napoleon and Spain (Treaty of Valençay).
The Return of Absolutism
Ferdinand left the country as an absolute monarch and was to return as a constitutional monarch, as the Constitution of 1812 was now in force. Liberals who made his return to Madrid possible expected him to swear to accept the Constitution and its conditions. The absolutists knew that the king’s return meant absolutism would be restored (Manifesto of the Persians). Ferdinand VII, certain of the liberals’ weakness, staged a coup and declared “null and void the constitution and the decrees of Cádiz,” and announced a return to absolutism. Liberal leaders were arrested or killed, and others fled into exile. The old institutions were restored, the feudal system and the Inquisition were re-established (back to the old regime). The international situation was favorable. Napoleon had been defeated. The victorious European absolutist powers restored the old order in Europe at the Congress of Vienna, and the Holy Alliance guaranteed the defense of absolutism. King Ferdinand VII and his government had to rebuild a country shattered by war. Their governments failed one after another. Opposition was expressed quickly. The liberal bourgeoisie and urban middle classes demanded a return to constitutional rule. The peasants refused to pay rents. In the army, the integration of the guerrilla leaders led to the creation of a liberal military sector. Liberal uprisings lengthened riots in cities and among peasants.
Liberal Triennium
Colonel Rafael del Riego, leading a company of soldiers, revolted and proclaimed the Constitution of 1812. He toured Andalusia and forced the king to become a constitutional monarch. Ferdinand VII appointed a new government, proclaimed an amnesty, and called elections. The courts were formed with a majority of liberal seats. They restored many of the reforms of Cádiz, sought to liquidate feudalism in the country, liberalize trade and industry, and modernize policy and administration. Reforms created the National Militia. The monarchy opposed these changes. Ferdinand stopped all laws that he could, resorting to the veto. He secretly conspired against the government and sought an alliance with European absolutist powers. More serious was the opposition shown by the peasants, since they lost their traditional land rights and rose against the liberals. The traditional nobility and the church encouraged the clashes between liberals. Moderates favored reforms cautiously and tried not to alienate the king and nobility. The hotheads wanted to accelerate reforms and deal with the monarch, relying on the support of other liberals.
The Ominous Decade
The Holy Alliance commissioned France to intervene in Spain to restore absolutism. In April 1823, 100,000 troops (the Hundred Thousand Sons of St. Louis), helped by Spanish royalists, reinstated Ferdinand VII as an absolute monarch. Liberals were repressed and fled into exile, which was an economic problem. From 1825, the king took positions in collaboration with the moderate sector of the financial and industrial bourgeoisie. The king’s attitude was frowned upon by the more conservative and traditionalist sector. In Catalonia, realistic games rose, calling for more power to the ultra-conservatives and the return of traditional customs and privileges. They were grouped around the king’s brother, as a possible successor, since Ferdinand had no children.
The Dynastic Conflict
The birth of the king’s daughter, Isabel, created a conflict in the succession to the throne. Salic Law impeded access to the throne to women, but Ferdinand VII, influenced by his wife Maria Cristina, promulgated the Pragmatic Sanction, revoking the Salic Law and allowing Isabel to inherit the throne instead of Don Carlos. Don Carlos’ supporters refused to accept the new situation and attempted to replace the Salic Law. It was a dispute about the struggle to impose one model of society or another. Charles was backed by supporters of the former regime and those opposed to liberalism. Maria Cristina realized that to save the throne for her daughter, she should be supported by liberal sectors. In 1833, Ferdinand VII died, reaffirming in his will his daughter Elizabeth as heir to the throne and Maria Cristina as regent until the age of his daughter. Don Carlos was proclaimed king by absolutists, starting the uprising that marked the beginning of the First Carlist War.
The Independence of Latin America
In the late eighteenth century, economic growth fostered the development of a powerful bourgeois Creole class – white but born in America. The discriminatory treatment of Creoles in colonial offices, heavy taxes on trade, etc., encouraged them to embrace independence ideas. These ideas were encouraged by Britain, who was eager to control the American market.
Process of Independence
José de San Martín proclaimed (1810) in the city of Buenos Aires the independence of Argentina. The Viceroyalty of New Granada and Venezuela, whose leader was Simón Bolívar, also saw uprisings led by Hidalgo and “Morelos.” Ferdinand VII sent an army of 10,000 men but was powerless in Rio de la Plata. Paraguay and Argentina were consolidated as independent nations. Bolívar defeated the Spanish army and laid the groundwork for the formation of Great Colombia. Mexico became independent from the metropolis in 1822. After the defeat at Ayacucho and the independence of Peru and Bolivia, the Spanish presence in continental America ended.