Fernando VII’s Reign and the Independence of Spanish America

Posted on Dec 8, 2024 in History

Fernando VII: Absolutists and Liberals

1. The Six-Year Absolutist Reign (1814-1820)

By the Treaty of Valençay (December 11, 1813), Napoleon returned the Spanish crown to Fernando VII. However, Fernando was in no hurry to return to a country ruled by the liberal Constitution of 1812, which was totally opposed to his absolutist convictions.

He entered Spain on March 22, 1814, acclaimed by the people and supported by the triumph of absolutist nations over revolutionary France, the coup of General Elio, and the Manifesto of the Persians. On May 4, in Valencia, he promulgated a decree dissolving the Parliament, declaring its legislation void, abolishing the Constitution, and restoring absolutism (Councils, Inquisition, feudal regime, the return of goods disentailed from the clergy, and the return of the privileges of the Mesta).

On May 10, he entered Madrid while the main representatives of liberalism were arrested. He was backed by the conservative army, the church, and much of the peasantry.

On the other hand, when the future of Europe was settled at the Congress of Vienna (1815), Fernando VII was particularly uninterested. Spain was marginalized in the negotiations, not getting any recognition for its struggle against Napoleon.

With an economy impoverished by the war and trade with America virtually cut off, Fernando kept the feudal privileges and refused to undertake any economic reform. This provoked unrest among the peasants and the urban classes, as well as rejection from a large part of the military industry. The military had supported the war effort but was now refusing to integrate guerrilla leaders into the army. There were also delays in pay, suspensions of promotions, and, above all, the sending of troops to America.

His main objective was to pursue the enemies of absolutism. More than 12,000 “Francophiles” were exiled, and the liberals had to go underground, forming secret liberal societies like Freemasonry. Their only outlet was the *pronunciamiento*, or military coup, such as those of Espoz y Mina in 1814, Díaz Porlier in 1815, and Lacy in 1817—all of them harshly suppressed.

2. The Liberal Triennium (1820-1823)

One of these *pronunciamientos*, led by Lieutenant Colonel Riego among troops who were to embark at Cadiz bound for America, was successful. In early March 1820, after trying with little success to raise Andalusia, La Coruña, Zaragoza, and Barcelona spontaneously joined the *pronunciamiento*.

Fernando VII reacted with a decree on March 3, listing a series of vague reforms. In the absence of support, on May 8, he issued a new decree, swore to the Constitution, and promised in the manifesto of the 10th: *”Let us go together, and I will be the first, down the constitutional path.”* He convened a board before which the king swore to the Constitution of 1812 in July. However, from the beginning, he did everything in his power to obstruct the constitutional functioning.

The period was characterized by significant social and political instability, marked by:

• The split between moderate liberals (in favor of an authoritarian government based on census suffrage, limited freedom of the press, private property, and social order, arising from the business bourgeoisie and members from exile) and radicals (single-chamber parliamentary control, universal suffrage, freedom of the press, embodied in popular sectors, young lawyers, intellectuals, and military extremists, most of the Courts).
• The involution of the king.
• The pressure of the constitutional contradiction of having an absolute king with the ability to appoint ministers.

Still, important legislative work was developed, trying to dismantle the Old Regime:

• Strengthening of the owner to the detriment of the peasant.
• Obligation of the clergy to swear to the Constitution.
• Secularization of education.
• Planning a reform of the Treasury, which began with devaluation and trimming expenses.
• Tithes were reduced by half.
• Creation of the unique and direct property tax that would take effect in 1823.

Meanwhile, encouraged by the conspiracies of the king and the serious economic crisis, protest movements against the liberal government emerged. The counter-revolution manifested in the appearance of realistic peasant groups, a prelude to Carlism, in the Basque Country, Navarra, Aragon, and Catalonia, and the creation of a Supreme Regency of Urgell in Spain, with the intention of creating an absolutist government alternative to the liberal one in Madrid. The failure of this regency made it clear that the king’s only way out was to request the intervention of the absolutist powers. These powers, gathered at the Congress of Verona in 1822, agreed to release the Spanish king. On April 7, 1823, a French army, known as the “Hundred Thousand Sons of St. Louis,” easily conquered the country. On October 1 of the same year, the last pocket of resistance in Cadiz ended, and Fernando VII was declared an absolute monarch.

3. The Ominous Decade (1823-1833)

The same day he was released, Fernando VII issued a decree declaring void the law of the Triennium. He immediately began a terrible repression against liberals, processing all of their leaders (1,094 trials, 435 prisoners, 132 executions, including Riego himself). All liberal officials and professors were purged, Boards of Faith were established to censor publications, and royalist volunteers were created, ultimately affecting about 800,000 people.

However, there were some changes. In November 1823, the Council of Ministers was established, controlling expenses, and a budget was introduced to rationalize the Treasury. The Inquisition was abolished, and radical absolutists were removed, replaced by ministers closer to liberalism, such as Cea Bermúdez and López Ballesteros. With these actions, Spanish absolutism was divided, leading to uprisings in favor of Don Carlos, the king’s brother.

Amid the total economic slowdown, the work of López Ballesteros in Finance stood out. He stopped spending, achieving a balanced budget, but could not get the privileged to contribute.

Since 1825, absolutism had radicalized. The *Manifesto of the Pure Realists* in 1826 predated the uprising in the Catalan Pyrenees in 1827, which was severely suppressed. The break with the king was total.

In 1830, liberal *pronunciamientos* occurred (Espoz y Mina, Torrijos). By 1831, the state of Ferdinand VII’s absolutist regime was unsustainable.

The birth of Elizabeth II in 1830 further encouraged the publication of the Pragmatic Sanction, negating the Salic Law, which prevented a woman from reigning. When the king died in 1833, the Cortes proclaimed Princess Elizabeth as heir. The pretext for a dynastic civil war was created.

4. Emancipation of Spanish America (1810-1825)

Several factors contributed to the emancipation:

• The spread of Enlightenment and liberal propaganda.
• The success of the American revolutionaries.
• The disenchantment of the Creoles (12% of the population), who were marginalized by the Spanish government and excluded from positions in the colonial administration.
• The breakdown of communications with the mainland.
• The impact of the Napoleonic invasion of Spain, causing a vacuum of authority in the colonies and the creation of their own Creole governing bodies.

Two stages can be distinguished in the process of independence:

a) 1810-1814

In 1810, the first cries for independence occurred, like that of Hidalgo in Mexico. The Buenos Aires Junta denied the legitimacy of the Regency, as did the one in Caracas later. But the restoration of Ferdinand VII to the throne slowed the expansion of the separatist movement, and in 1815, the uprising appeared to be overcome. Only in La Plata did the independence movement remain active.

b) 1816-1825

From Argentina, in a surprise blow, San Martín crossed the Andes and conquered Chile, allowing the revival of the separatist movement in the north, now led by Bolívar, who managed to impose his project of Gran Colombia after the victory of Boyacá and the Congress of Angostura in 1819. In Mexico, the Creoles implemented the Plan of Iguala in 1821, which ended the military dictatorship of Iturbide. The Guayaquil Conference of 1822 between Bolívar and San Martín decided their respective areas of influence, accelerating the release of the Colombian-Venezuelan space. After the victories of Carabobo and Pichincha, only Peru remained subject to Spain. In 1825, after the victory of Ayacucho, Sucre achieved independence for Hispanic America, except for Cuba and Puerto Rico.

British and U.S. support for the separatists was critical in facilitating arms and immediately recognizing the newly formed nations.

Among the consequences were:

• The political fragmentation of Hispanic America after the failed attempt to create a United States of South America by Bolívar (from the initial 8 states, it grew to 16 twenty years later after wars and disputes over border issues).
• The loss for Spain of colonial resources.
• The abolition of slavery in the newly independent countries.
• A legacy of inequality and Creole domination, frequent civil strife, dictatorial political dominance of senior military, and economic dependence on the U.S. and Great Britain.