Restoration of the Bourbon Monarchy in Spain: 1874-1900

Posted on Mar 6, 2025 in History

The Bourbon Restoration in Spain (1874-1900)

During the six years [of the *Sexenio Democrático*], a sense of lawlessness developed, which many social sectors interpreted as a general threat. During Serrano’s dictatorship in 1874, the army, the Church, and the upper and middle classes gambled on a solution similar to that of the international context: the restoration of Alfonso XII. The restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in the person of Alfonso XII was the product of thorough work. The great protagonist was Antonio Cánovas del Castillo. It began with the abdication of Isabella II in favor of her son. Cánovas was influenced by the Bismarck era. The Alfonsino party, whose core was formed by members of the Constitutional Courts of 1868, began elaborating a conservative program in August 1873.

The army had been a key player in political life up to that point. Cánovas wanted to assign the army a subordinate role to civilian authority and subject their initiatives to a moderate constitutional system. The pronouncement in Sagunto by Martínez Campos was not welcomed because Cánovas wanted a restoration of the monarchy through civilian channels. The slave lobby pressured the island’s governors not to implement the government reforms of the *Sexenio*. The Sandhurst Manifesto, written by Cánovas and signed by Don Alfonso at the military academy where he was studying, outlined the basic ideas of the restoration project:

  1. Open and inclusive character of the constitutional monarchy.
  2. Need for a Catholic tradition that was compatible with the aforementioned constitution.
  3. Overcoming the two constitutions mentioned above.

Political Parties and Ideologies

The Conservative Party, led by Cánovas and composed of moderate liberals, unionists, and some progressives, defended social order and public property. Its values were set by the Church, and its social bases were the landowning and financial bourgeoisie, the aristocracy, and the Catholic hierarchy. He led the Liberal Party. Sagasta’s party consisted of some Progressives, Democrats, and moderate Republicans who were betting on social reforms, education, and some secular policies. Their social base was the industrial and commercial bourgeoisie, liberal professionals, and the middle classes.

The ideological bases of the restoration system were those of its creator, Cánovas:

  1. Pragmatism in politics.
  2. Defense of the historical Constitution of Spain.
  3. Shared sovereignty of the King and Cortes, as opposed to national sovereignty.
  4. Pessimism.

The army, under the command of the king, should be excluded from politics. The electoral system was based on fraud, favoring the dominant groups. The Constitution of 1876 was drafted by a commission of experts convened by Cánovas. It showed a spirit of departure: a pact. The essential features were:

  1. Shared sovereignty between the King and Cortes.
  2. The right to vote (initially census suffrage, later universal male suffrage).
  3. Religious freedom, but with the recognition of Catholicism as the state religion.

The monarchy played a triple role:

  1. It was an expression of the continuity of historical order.
  2. It was a guarantee of social order.
  3. The monarch was the cornerstone of the system.

Other Political Movements

A two-party system was imposed, with considerable ideological blurring between conservatives and liberals. On the margins were:

  • Carlism: The military defeat of the Carlists in 1876 closed an era in the history of this movement: that of armed confrontation with power. A new ideological definition occurred, in which an intransigent sector of Catholicism played an important role. The Carlist sector reorganized itself after this, resulting in *Juntas Tradicionalistas*.
  • Catalan Nationalism: Catalan nationalism emerged in the 1830s. The centralizing policies of the liberal state clashed with the traditional culture and language of Catalonia. The *Renaixença* occurred, initially a cultural manifestation.
  • Basque Nationalism: The *foral* question was one of the axes of confrontation between the liberal state and the Basque provinces. The top leaders came from Carlism. Sabino Arana founded a very Catholic, closed society.
  • Republicanism: There were four currents:
    • The “possibilist” current, the most moderate, directed by Emilio Castelar. Its social base was the middle classes and the bourgeoisie.
    • A sector led by Ruiz Zorrilla and Salmerón, opting for electoral withdrawal and supporting the triumph of the republic through popular uprising.
    • An institutional sector, run by Salmerón, inspired by the *Institución Libre de Enseñanza* and Krausism.
    • The Federal Party of Pi i Margall, representing the popular aspirations of the *Sexenio*.
  • Labor Movement: The labor movement was founded by Pablo Iglesias, who defended the rights of the proletariat. It combined a Marxist revolutionary ideology with more realistic measures.